NAIROBI, Kenya May 31 – The ODM Linda Mwananchi faction has ramped up criticism over the proposed taxation in the 2026 Finance Bill, faulting the Kenya Kwanza administration for what they term runaway public spending.
Key figures including ODM Deputy Party Leader Godfrey Osotsi, ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino have accused the government of mismanaging public resources while overburdening citizens with taxes.
Senators Osotsi and Sifuna cited what they described as inflated State House expenditure and questioned the government’s fiscal priorities amid prevailing economic hardship.
“There is a lot of wastage in government. Can you imagine State House uses KSh18 billion in a year, yet Kibaki showed us that you can run State House with even KSh3 billion, and it still delivers,” Osotsi stated.
Sifuna added, “It’s unacceptable. How can one person alone spend KSh17 billion while Kenyans are suffering out here? He says he cannot reduce taxes, yet you hear he’s moving around giving one young man KSh2 million, another KSh10 million, and KSh5 million to a church. Where do you think that money comes from?”
The leaders urged MPs across the political divide to vote against the Bill, warning that any legislator who supports it would face public backlash.
“The Finance Bill is coming. Where will this Finance Bill take our lives? It will punish children, it will punish women. That is why we are saying reject the Finance Bill,” Babu stated.
“If you are a Member of the National Assembly, under the ‘Linda Mwananchi’ movement your vote should be a ‘No’ to the Finance Bill. Any MP—whether from the government or opposition—who votes ‘Yes’, we will ask Gen Z to occupy their homes,” Osotsi asserted.
