Koimburi sensationally claimed that MPs who supported the Bill 2024 were promised a Ksh2 million ‘reward’.
Members of the National Assembly on Tuesday, July 23 demanded action to be taken against Juja Member of Parliament (MP) George Koimburi over allegations of being bribed to support the withdrawn Finance Bill.
Speaking at a church, Koimburi sensationally claimed that MPs who supported the Bill were promised a Ksh2 million ‘reward’.
However, the legislators vocally stormed the August House during the afternoon session following the claims amidst Koimburi writing a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula, apologising for his comments.
The MPs demanded more than just a mere apology from the Juja MP, and in the spirit of pushing for accountability and transparency, the enraged lawmakers called for Wetangula to punish Koimburi.
Juja MP George Koimburi speaking in a church service. /GEORGE KOIMBURI
The intense calls for action to be taken against the legislator were led by Mathira MP Eric Wamumbi.
“We don’t want Koimburi to come and give an explanation. We heard what he said. For these members to redeem their image and dignity, Koimburi must be punished. For this house to continue, Koimburi must be punished. Those members who voted no must tell us whether they were paid, we voted yes of our own volition,” stated Wamumbi.
Tigania West MP John Mutunga added that the allegations did more than just ruin the reputation of Parliament; they also caused financial and reputational damage to the MPs.
“This letter has caused us a lot of pain and expenses. Wherever we go, we are required first of all to deliver the Ksh 2 million before you do anything. We are in a situation where Members of Parliament are branded in this country and the circumstances under which this allegation was made were very severe.”
“We are in a situation where we need to redeem our image and Koimburi only put fuel in a burning fire. We do not need Koimburi to come and give us stories, we should tell him what we have gone through so that he may be able to suffer a bit,” Mutunga asserted.
Weighing in, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris expounded on the implications of the allegations on the integrity of Parliament, citing that this shows that MPs are controlled by the State.
“In the public, everybody thinks parliament has been under state capture and when you have a member of parliament that goes out there and says that he was paid Ksh2 million to vote yes and he declined, it means that parliamentarians cannot make decisions on their own.
“When an honourable member makes such a statement, he should be put to strict proof. If he cannot actually substantiate whatever statement he made in public and we forgive him, then it means we are coercing him to withdraw. We don’t want him to withdraw, let him prove to us that he was offered two million. If he lied about it then he should be punished,” Passaris declared.
Actions against the embattled legislator, including punishment, now lie on the Powers and Privilege Committee of the 13th Parliament.
National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula during a past House session. /FILE