President William Ruto has refused to sign the Finance Bill, 2024. According to preliminary reports, the head of state has ordered that the bill be sent back to Parliament.
Additionally, Ruto has proposed various amendments to the Bill which Members of Parliament (MPs) will be tasked to consider.
Following the move, the MPs may incorporate the amendments suggested by the head of state, after which the speaker shall resubmit it to the president for assent.
However, parliament can pass the Finance Bill 2024 a second time, with or without amendments aligned with suggestions of the president only if it is supported by two-thirds of the members.
“Passes the Bill fully accommodating the President’s reservation, following which the Speaker re-submits the Bill to the President for assent,
“or passes the Bill a second time without amendments, or; passes the Bill with amendments that do not accommodate the President’s reservations,” the constitution of Kenya states.
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Ruto to Adress the Nation
President William Ruto will be addressing the nation at 4:00PM from State House.
This comes as MPs are scheduled to go on recess starting today, June 26, until July 23. The Speaker may therefore need to recall them.
“During today’s Morning Session, the National Assembly approved a Motion to alter its calendar to commence the short recess from today, Wednesday, 26th June 2024 upon adjournment of the Sitting,
“To resume regular sittings for the Second Part of the Session, on Tuesday, 23rd July 2024,” a statement from the National Assembly indicates.
The bill, passed Tuesday, saw a total of 195 members voting to pass it and 106 rejected it.
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Ruto Deploys Military to CBD
Earlier, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has sued CS Duale and the National Assembly over deployment of KDF following anti-Finance Bill protests.
LSK urged the court to suspend the decision, pending hearing and determination of the case.
This followed an approval for the deployment by the National Assembly following a wave of protests over the Finance Bill 2024.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale gazetted the deployment of the military to support the police after a section of the anti-finance bill protesters stormed Parliament buildings on Tuesday, June 25.
CS Duale explained that the deployment was necessary to contain the protests and help in restoring normalcy in the country.
“Pursuant to Article 241 (3) (b) of the Constitution of Kenya as read with sections 31 (1) (a), 31 (1) (c), 33 (1), 34 (1) and 34 (2) of the Kenya Defence Forces Act, (Cap. 199), the KDF is deployed on the 25th June, 2024 in support of the National Police Service in response to the security emergency caused by the ongoing violent protests in various parts of the Republic of Kenya resulting in destruction and breaching of critical infrastructure,” Duale said.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula convened a special sitting to address the protests and the damage that left Parliament in ruins.
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