Presidents have not always had it easy passing Bills that are disputed

Azimio MPs walk out of the National Assembly chambers as Treasuary CS Njuguna Ndung'u presented the 2023/24 budget. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] President William Ruto this week surmounted the first legislative hurdle in his administration using the numbers he acquired from the minority Azimio One Kenya coalition after winning elections. He rallied Parliament to ratify his Sh3.7 trillion spending budget plan, although not all of the about 40 MPs he convinced to support his Kenya Kwanza agenda turned out to vote during the highly anticipated debate on Wednesday afternoon. The legislators he acquired from Jubilee and ODM Azimio coalition affiliate parties played a crucial role during the second reading of the Finance Bill. The contest was made easier after some lawmakers opted to stay away. ODM has now threatened it will take action against legislators who absconded voting on the Finance Bill, 2023, but more battles are expected in Parliament when the budget policy statement presented by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u is tabled for the Third Reading. President William Ruto's relentless push for the passing of the Finance Bill 2023 rekindles echoes from past do or die legislative battles that divided leaders and their supporters. He marshaled MPs from Kenya Kwanza and those who have technically defected from Jubilee, ODM and UDM to support the Bill that threatens to derail government agenda if not passed. Unlike President Mwai Kibaki, and to a lesser extent his successor Uhuru Kenyatta, Ruto is operating more like President Daniel arap Moi who always made sure his agenda sailed through Parliament. The carrot and stick rule applied during Moi's rule and it appears to be taking root now through enticing of friendly opposition MPs to cross the floor, and the threat of using party disciplinary organs against deviant members. Each of the presidents faced different challenges, but it is the passing of the crucial Finance Bill that has bedeviled the last two, Uhuru and Ruto, with the latter facing his first major test in Parliament this week. In 2018, majority of MPs opposed the eight per cent value added tax proposal on petroleum products alongside other clauses in the Finance Bill, 2018 that Uhuru wanted passed and successfully turned the tables after getting opposition MPs on his side. Like now, the controversial vote also targeted salaried workers to be deducted money by the government to finance housing projects, while mobile phone users were also to incur additional duty and bank transfer costs. After lengthy protests, the MPs first rejected the Bill and returned it to the President who took it back to Parliament with slight amendments that removed some controversial clauses but retained the eight per cent levy on petroleum products. The Jubilee administration was struggling to plug a budget hole created by rising expenditure and shrinking revenues, which is the problem facing the current administration. During the chaotic debate, Leader of Majority Aden Duale and his minority counterpart John Mbadi plotted a walkout from the chambers that effectively handed Uhuru a win due to lack of quorum. The voting triggered a fierce row that forced Speaker Justin Muturi to return to the chamber to restore order and MPs engaged in shouting matches, thus disrupting business for long periods. Just like Ruto did two weeks ago at State House, Uhuru also called a Jubilee parliamentary group meeting to whip the MPs into supporting the Bill days before it was tabled in Parliament. "He found it very difficult to pass that Bill because the MPs and Kenyans were against it, but he managed to push it through. The difference is he did not issue threats as the current president is doing," says political analyst Martin Andati. Speaking in Narok two weeks ago, Ruto said: "I am waiting for the MPs who will go and vote against the employment of these young people, against housing that would give them the chance of owning a house with five per cent mortgage." The warning was further buttressed by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei. "I agreed with Ruto. Furthermore, any Kenya Kwanza MP who shall vote against the Finance Bill, 2023 should face the full force of party disciplinary mechanisms. You cannot play opposition politics in government. Party position is supreme in any discipline of democracy," he said. During Moi's reign, he also faced opposition against his legislative agenda in and outside Parliament but managed to circumvent it through intelligence information and reports from the provincial administration. "Moi was very tactical because he had all the intelligence and knew when to retreat and when to throw his weight around, and also used the divide and rule tactic very effectively to win some opposition MPs," says lawyer Stanislus Murunga. Party discipline Moi also used other measures like party disciplinary measures, which Ruto may adopt. He had insisted that voting be done openly instead of secret ballot so that Kenyans can know who opposed "the Bill that will create jobs for millions" of unemployed young people and that is exactly what happened on Wednesday. Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo had earlier raised fears that the Bill would be passed swiftly against the wishes of the majority because of lack of secrecy in voting. Pundits also point out other differences between Moi's and Ruto's approach that saw the former use tactics like asking government-backed financial institutions to recall loans of those who opposed his agenda. Last week, it was reported a workers' union leader opposed to the Bill has suffered a similar fate. Similarities include the effort to go the extra mile and get undecided MPs on their side as reportedly happened last week when the president invited dissenting Kenya Kwanza leaders and trade union leaders to State House. Those summoned include trade union and workers leaders from the Federation of Kenya Employers, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union, Kenya National Union of Teachers, the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Central Organisation of Trade Unions, and Kenya Union of Post Primary Teachers. Whereas Moi had the luxury of taking drastic measures like suspending errant MPs from Kanu, the worst the current administration can do is to de-whip non-conformists from parliamentary leadership positions or remove them from committees. List: How MPs voted for Finance Bill 2023 In 2020, Uhuru convened two Jubilee party PGs at KICC where rebels who had sided with Ruto, including Duale, were removed from leadership positions. Ironically it was then Kieni MP Kanini Kega who tabled the motion to remove Duale and spearheaded the process that led to the replacement of almost all Jubilee parliamentary leadership positions. Kega recently technically defected from Jubilee to Kenya Kwanza. Political analyst Gitile Naituli of Multi-Media University regrets that Parliament continues to be captured by the Executive despite the fact that it ought to be independent in providing oversight to those in power. "Separation of powers is supposed to enhance checks and balances but shamefully, Parliament is part of the Executive, which makes Ruto's threat against the MPs look valid otherwise he would not be doing that," said Prof Naituli. He blames current MPs who look more at personal gain than the electorate and public interest unlike the likes of Masinde Muliro, Martin Shikuku, George Anyona, Chibule wa Tsuma and Koigi wa Wamwere, among others, who fought for people's rights in the one-party era. He says MPs, especially those representing people engaged in small and medium size enterprises, should have demanded for the removal of the turnover tax as proposed in the Bill because it will stifle growth of many businesses. "Cautioning MPs to vote in a particular manner is wrong. It is a mockery to the separation of powers concept. The president should have quietly called the MPs and threatened them in camera," says Naituli. But other pundits argue that it is difficult for a president to push his agenda without lobbying and point at the challenges Kibaki faced due to his laissez faire approach of trusting those given opportunities to deliver. A case in point was the challenge he faced in Parliament for the approval of Justice Aaron Ringera as the Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission when MPs from both sides, including ministers, ganged up to reject him. Instead of staying in Nairobi to lobby or inviting MPs to State House, Kibaki spent the weekend with his family in his rural Othaya home, leaving the task of marshaling numbers to the House leadership led by the Speaker. Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim tried his best as he complained in resignation that the Executive should have observed the spirit of collective responsibility. "I leave it to the Executive to be an Executive proper," he said. Controversial Bills have in the past caused scuffles and brawls in Parliament, most notably in December 2014 when lawmakers traded blows and splashed water on Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso during a chaotic parliamentary session which approved changes to the Security Bill. Kicks and blows again marred the crucial vote on the Political Parties Amendment (Amendment) Bill, 2021 when Ruto mobilised 136 MPs to oppose it against combined forces of Uhuru and Raila who marshalled 153 MPs to push it through. Leader of Minority John Mbadi was suspended from the House for five consecutive sittings for punching and injuring Sing'owet-Soin MP Kipsengeret Koros as they debated the Bill that sought to, among other things, redefine the words 'political party' to include 'coalition party, which created the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition.

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