Silvanus Osoro, Majority Whip of the National Assembly, has come out to defend himself following charges that some Azimio la Umoja MPs were misled to vote against the contentious Finance Bill 2023 in Parliament.
On Thursday, Osoro was caught on camera confessing to using corrupt and immoral techniques, including bribery, to encourage several Azimio MPs to avoid the parliamentary session on voting day.
During a UDA recruitment drive in Kitutu Chache South Constituency, osoro admitted that he had to look for ways by hook or crook to pass the finance bill. He had to manipulate systems and find ways to get the opposition MPs to play to their tune. He adds that he conspired with some opposition MPs and got some of them absent from the House so that he could get the numbers and that Some of them were sponsored to go abroad while others were bribed to fake illness.
In a rebuttal speech at Calib secondary school in West Pokot County on Saturday, Osoro claimed that he was misquoted and that all he did was ask the few Azimio MPs to share a 'bowl of soup' at Parliament's canteen, which he claims was misinterpreted as a symbolic reference to money.
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Osoro added that he is in charge of catering in Parliament's catering committee, and he just said he invited opposition members and put them in the kitchen where their mess hall is. They had pumpkin soup, insisting that soup does not translate to money.
He claimed that the administration took no measures to pressure Azimio MPs, claiming that opposition MPs' low turnout influenced their vote on the bill.
"The government spent no money convincing Azimio MPs to vote; they simply did not show up." People should quit tarnishing the government's and MPs' names."
President Ruto signed the Finance Bill into law on June 26 after the National Assembly passed it.
