National Assembly · Afternoon Sitting

Hon. Members, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 42, I wish to report to the House that I have received two Messages from His Excellency the President, seeking approval of persons nominated for appointment to various diplomatic and State offices. In the first Message, His Excellency the President conveys that in his exercise of the powers conferred to him by the provisions of Article 13…

Deputy Chief Whip of the Majority Party.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table:

Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Social Protection.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Speaker, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table: Reports of the Departmental Committee on Social Protection on its Consideration of—

Next Order.

That is in order, Hon. Speaker.

Thank you. Hon. Wangari, is that okay with you?

Let me put effort into getting the toxicology and the DNA report from the Government Chemist.

You see, as I said, asphyxia is a sudden deprivation of oxygen. Right?

True.

Then your Statement says it was secondary to an immersion of the nose and mouth in water, which is drowning.

Yes, drowning.

In law, we have a maxim that things do not just happen. So, you need to look at that.

I will. However, Hon. Martha confirmed to me that the child was known to have a CNS condition. She seems to... Anyway, I will bring the...

You are out of order.

[(Laughter)]

Yes, Hon. Martha.

The Chairman is misleading the House. The reason I raised this issue is because the family felt that the school should have been more careful to ensure that what happened did not occur. Additionally, the questions they raised have not been answered. The first question is how this child ended up in the fish pond, which was secured and fenced off. There are many questions surrounding this investigat…

Hon. Tongoyo, when Hon. Melly brings his part of the response, you should also be here to complement. Next is a response from Hon. Tongoyo to Hon. Dick Maungu. Is Hon. Dick Maungu in the House?

[(Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo responded in the positive)]

Hon. Speaker, I had assigned my Vice-Chairman to read the Statement.

Hon. Raso, go ahead.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to respond to the question by Hon. Dick Maungu, regarding the prevailing incidences of insecurity in the country with particular reference to the recent attack on the Senator for Vihiga County, Hon. Godfrey Osotsi. Circumstances surrounding the incident are that on 8th April 2026, at approximately noon, Hon. Godfrey Osotsi was at Java House located at West End Mall…

attending to a private engagement. He was seated with a female companion when they were approached by a group of about 15 individuals. The individuals initially appeared friendly with some greeting the Senator before surrounding his table. They questioned him on his presence in Kisumu and alleged political affiliation. Before he could respond, they turned hostile and physically assaulted him using…

Hon. Maungu.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I thank the Chairman for the response. However, the response provided by the Chairman is highly contradictory because on one part of the second page of this response, it is said that early findings suggest political motive, and that is what had been captured earlier. Later on, a love triangle is brought in. I have spoken to my Senator who hails from my area about this vers…

Hon. Gikaria, are you ready to respond to Hon. (Dr) Ojiambo Oundo’s Request for Statement? Is Hon. (Dr) Oundo in the House? He is always here, but I cannot see him now. He must have a legitimate reason for not being here. Let us give him more time. You will respond on Tuesday.

[(Response to Request for Statement deferred)]

Thank you, Hon. Speaker.

We are supposed to have a Statement from the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure. Hon. G.K., are you in the House? Are you ready to respond to Hon. Protus Akuja’s Request for Statement? Is Hon. Akujah in the House? Go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, let me shelve what I wanted to say and proceed with business.

You obviously did not go to the University of Nairobi, did you?

Hon. Speaker, I went to the Pennsylvania State University in the United States of America (USA) . It is an Ivy League University.

Go ahead.

Hon. Speaker, I beg to move the following Motion: THAT, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 120, this House resolves to reduce the publication period of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 21 of 2026) from seven days to six days. Hon. Speaker, we have an opportunity to reduce the load on Kenyans’ shoulders, especially in terms of the prices of fuel products. …

Kamau Kuria was my law Professor at the University of Nairobi. Proceed, Member for Molo.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. As Kenyans are aware, we are facing a crisis. The House is rising to the occasion to fix that crisis. It is for that reason that this afternoon, this House will resolve to reduce the VAT on fuel from 16 per cent to 8 per cent. We want to reduce the publication period for this Bill to hasten the process and relieve Kenyans of the burden.

Hon. Speaker, allow me to also use this opportunity to welcome the students from the University of Nairobi. I encourage them to participate in the upcoming elections by vying and supporting their candidates of choice, so that they can start earning the experience that they need. With those remarks, I beg to second.

Members on your feet, resume your seats.

[(Question proposed)]

Put the Question!

[(Question put and agreed to)]

Next Order.

Thank you very much. I also support this Bill. It is absolutely timely. The Government is responding to what has just occurred, which is negatively affecting our people, and we are trying to cushion them from the very high cost of living. We know very well that the Government does not have any other farms or industries, and therefore, it has nowhere to get funds other than through taxes. Whatever …

The war is in the Near East.

It is in the Near East, and we pray that they be touched by the grace of God, so that we can have these prices stabilise and move on with our normal lives. I support this Bill.

Hon. Caroli Omondi.

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. I rise to support this Bill.

Where is Hon. Owen Baya? When Hon. Caroli finishes, it will be his time to reply.

I would like to note a few issues. I think the Government is only committing Ksh6 billion out of the Ksh17 billion available in the Stabilisation Fund. I urge that they commit more. Other than that, the Ksh5.40 cents we pay for stabilisation should also have been waived alongside the VAT reduction for that period, to give consumers more relief. It is also time to interrogate the Government-to-Gov…

logistics. In the oil industry, companies offer different levels of efficiency, logistics and financial capacity. Since we had the Government-to-Government, one company has been controlling 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the supplies. It is a very small company that does not boast of high efficiency or better logistics, including depots and storage, which is why prices have not gone down under the …

I will give Hon. David Ochieng’ and Mwalimu Kombe one minute each to contribute.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I must commend those concerned for taking swift action. Those measures should not lull us into a false sense of security because we do not know how long this whole affair in the Strait of Hormuz will last. Parliament should start thinking about what it can do to ensure that Kenyans get the relief they need without Executive inte…

Your time is up, Hon. David. Let us have Hon. Kombe.

Ahsante, Mheshimiwa Spika, kwa kunipatia nafasi hii. Ninauunga mkono Mswada huu wa kuupunguza ushuru wa mafuta. Ni vyema kuwa Serikali imeamua kuchukua hatua hii kwa sababu itawasaidia wananchi kwa njia nyingi. Kwa sasa, bei ya vitu vingi imepanda. Hata hivyo, iwapo ushuru wa mafuta utapunguzwa, Wakenya watapata nafuu katika gharama ya maisha. Wengi jana walikimbilia kwenye runinga kuikashifu Ser…

Your time is up. Lastly, let us have Hon. Wandeto. You have one minute to contribute.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I support the VAT reduction from 16 per cent to 8 per cent to avoid the spiralling costs of fuel across the economy. This is a good start. We can even temporarily lower or remove other tariffs such as the Excise Duty and the Petroleum Development Levy. We can also tap the entire Ksh16 billion in the Fuel Stabilisation Fund to achieve even lower costs. However, we must als…

As I conclude, it is sad that as we regularise what was announced yesterday, others are already undermining Parliament. Hon. Speaker, you have to protect Parliament from being undermined.

Let us have Hon. Owen Baya.

Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I thank every Member who contributed to the debate and overwhelmingly supported the Bill. This is one of the few Bills that everybody has supported. We join the league of other countries such as South Africa, Zambia, Namibia and Ghana, which have also reduced taxes to cushion their citizens. We are on the right trajectory. We are not just reducing fuel costs, but we are a…

Members on their feet, take your seats. Next Order.

[(Question put and agreed to)]

[(The Bill was read a Second Time and committed to Committee of the whole House)]

Hon. Temporary Chairlady, we propose to drop this amendment because we do not want to give a further extension apart from what was already given. The Temporary Chairlady : Hon. Members, we have come to the end of the Committee of the whole House. Mover to move reporting.

[(Proposed amendment by Hon. Owen Baya withdrawn)]

[(Clause 2 agreed to)]

[(Clause 1 agreed to)]

[(Hon. Martha Wangari)]

Hon. Temporary Chairlady, I beg to move that the House reports its consideration of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.21 of 2026) and its approval thereof without amendment.

[(Question proposed)]

[(Question put and agreed to)]

[(The House resumed)]

Chairperson.

I beg to report that the Committee of the whole House has considered the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 21 of 2026) and approved the same without amendments.

Mover.

I beg to Move that the House do agree with the Committee in the same report. I also request Hon. Murugara to second the Motion for agreement with the report of the Committee of the whole House.

Thank you very much. I second.

Thank you. Hon. Kuria Kimani, take your seat. You are very mobile today.

[(Question proposed)]

Put the Question.

[(Question put and agreed to)]

Mover.

I beg to move that the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 21 of 2026) be now read a Third time. I also request Hon. Kuria Kimani to second.

I second.

[(Question proposed)]

Put the Question. Thank you, Hon Members. We now go back to Order No. 7. We are left with one Statement by the Deputy Leader of the Majority Party.

[(Question put and agreed to)]

[(The Bill was accordingly read a Third Time and passed)]

Thank you very much, Hon. Speaker. Pursuant to provisions of Standing Order 44 (2) (a) and on behalf of the House Business Committee that met on Tuesday, 14th April 2026, to prioritise business for consideration during the week and the business coming before the House in the following week, I rise to present the following Statement. About business scheduled for Tuesday next week, the House is exp…

[[The Speaker (Hon. Moses Wetang’ula) left the Chair]]

[The Temporary Speaker (Hon. Farah Maalim) in the Chair]

Ni nani anayechangia Hoja hii? Ni Mhe. Irene Mayaka. Je, yupo na amebakisha dakika ngapi?

[(Loud consultations)]

Yaani, haujasikia Hoja ambayo imeandikwa kwa Order Paper ikisomwa?

Hoja kwa Kiswahili ni nini?

[(Laughter)]

Makarani wa Meza, someni Shughuli ya Tisa tena.

Asome tena kwa sababu hatujasikia.

Haya, rudia.

Mtoahoja anayehitimisha Hoja hii ni Mhe. Irene Mayaka.

Ahsante sana, Mhe. Spika wa Muda, kwa kunipa nafasi ili nihitimishe Hoja hii ambayo tulijadiliana. Wabunge wenzangu waliokuwa hapa walisaidia kwa kutoa mchango wao katika Hoja hii ambayo Kamati yetu ya Utangamano wa Kikanda, au kwa Kimombo Regional Integration, iliwasilisha katika Bunge hili.

Naomba nimsaidie mwenzangu, Mhe. Charles Nguna, nimweleze ya kwamba hii ilikuwa Hoja ambayo sisi kama Kamati tulileta mbele ya Bunge hili ili tujadiliane tuone ya kwamba mapendekezo ambayo tulikuwa nayo, kama vile Tume ya Kiswahili ya Afrika Mashariki ifadhiliwe kifedha na pia kiwafanyakazi, kwa sababu tuna Tume ya Kiswahili pale Zanzibar ambayo tunataka isaidiwe. La pili ni kwamba Bunge liunge m…

Hongera kwa Mhe. Irene Mayaka kwa kuendeleza Hoja hii kwa lugha yetu ya kitaifa. Mimi sasa nikiwa nimethibitisha kwamba kuna akidi kwa minajili ya Bunge kufanya uamuzi, naitoa Hoja iamuliwe.

[(Question put and agreed to)]

Leo natafakari kwamba nimeweza kuhitimisha Hoja hii kwa lugha yetu ya taifa, Kiswahili. Tuendelee na utaratibu unaofuata wa shughuli.

Next Order.