Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Kenyans.co.ke
Published on 2024-02-22 05:55:11
Members of Parliament from the Azimio coalition staged a walkout from the Kenyan Parliament on February 21, 2024, in protest against the Affordable Housing Bill. The lawmakers claimed that their proposed amendments were rejected, and they suspected that the House was under instructions from the Kenya Kwanza government to pass the bill without any changes.
Led by Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, the Azimio politicians expressed their frustration at the flawed exercise and accused the government of pushing for the passage of the bill without considering their proposed amendments. Junet Mohamed stated that many of their coalition members had filed amendments, but it seemed like there were instructions from the Kenya Kwanza regime to pass the bill without any changes.
The MPs emphasized that they were not being listened to and instructed their members to drop all proposed amendments as they were not being engaged in a manner that could make the bill better. Junet Mohamed also questioned why the Executive would interfere in Parliament’s business and insisted that the matter should be handled independently, regardless of political affiliation. He further announced that the coalition members would pursue the matter in court to try to halt the entire process.
The lawmakers’ frustrations were heightened when their proposed amendments were rejected. For example, Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba’s proposal for the National Housing Corporation to collect the Housing levy was unanimously turned down, despite her argument that the corporation’s extensive experience in collecting housing funds would represent a more cost-effective approach compared to establishing an independent body.
The incident occurred just a day after the bill passed the Second Reading stage with 141 MPs voting in favor and 58 opposing the passage. Following the voting process, there was criticism against the Azimio MPs, as the majority of them had failed to show up to cast their votes in Parliament.
In response, the Azimio coalition members remained firm in their stance against the Affordable Housing Bill and vowed to continue fighting for their proposed amendments in court. They accused the Kenyan government of going against the interests of the people and failing to honor their promises. The tensions between the Azimio coalition and the Kenya Kwanza government highlighted the political divide and clashed interests within the Kenyan Parliament.
The walkout by the Azimio MPs and their subsequent plans to challenge the Affordable Housing Bill in court indicated the deep-rooted disagreements and frustrations within the Kenyan political landscape. The battle over the Affordable Housing Bill reflected the ongoing power struggles and opposing ideologies between the different political factions in Kenya. The future developments and outcomes of this conflict would continue to shape the trajectory of the Kenyan political scene.
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