Cherargei Claims Senators Bribed With Ksh100,000 to Pass Controversial Parties Bill

A day after the Senate passed the Political Parties (Amendment) Bill 2021, Deputy President William Ruto’s allies now claim senators were bribed to vote in favor of the controversial laws.

A total of 28 lawmakers voted on Wednesday to pass the Bill without amendments with only 4 dissenting.

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei alleged on Thursday that the 28 lawmakers who supported the Bill were bribed with Ksh100,000 each.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s Day Break Show, the vocal senator claimed his colleagues were intimidated by the Executive.

He argued that the Bill is compromised and plans are underway to challenge it in court.

“I can assure you if this matter goes to court this law will be disallowed and I said it on the floor of the Senate yesterday that parliament will be embarrassed by the court of law because the process has been shunned with violence, intimidation, blackmail, bribery,” said the firebrand legislator.

Read: Kipsengeret Koros Injured As MPs Engage in Fist Fight Over Parties Bill

“…You could even tell when we were doing the debate people were in morbid fear because they were in intimidated, they were given Ksh100,000 to pass this law and its a threat to democracy… If this law was good why would they use arm-twisting tactics.”

Four members had presented amendments to different clauses. They were all shot down.

The Bill will now be gazetted and forwarded to the President for assent.

Ruto’s allies had attempted to shoot down some of the proposed amendments in the Coalition Bill in the National Assembly without success.

In the dramatic sessions held in December last year, MPs loyal to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his handshake partner Raila Odinga rejected amendments proposed by their colleagues from the Ruto camp, giving the duo major victory in the House.

Ruto is on record saying the Bill undermines the independence of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and political parties, arguing it creates an imperial Registrar of Political Parties.

“I urge MPs not to pass laws that promote conmanship. We want laws that promote the rights of every Kenyan,” Ruto said in a past rally.

IEBC also recently took issue with some of the proposed amendments saying they interfere with the commission’s mandate. According to the electoral body, the Bill creates ambiguity on what a coalition of political parties was when other parties were allowed to field individual candidates.

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