Lang’ata MP Jalang’o rejects Finance Bill 2024 in Parliament

Lang’ata Member of Parliament Phelix Odiwuor has announced on the floor of the National Assembly that he rejects the contentious Finance Bill, 2024 in totality.

Jalang’o, as the MP is popularly known, said he arrived at the decision due to the fact that the Bill, if passed into law, will seemingly affect the common lower class citizen.

The legislator has in recent times run into trouble with the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, on whose ticket he was elected, due to his perceived dalliance with President William Ruto and the ruling Kenya Kwanza alliance.

Hence. his decision to go against the Bill comes as a shock as he had already been subjected to trolling on social media with many expecting him to support it.

He went ahead to say that he had spoken to President Ruto about his decision on the Bill and obtained his blessing.

The Lang’ata MP further told his colleagues in the House that most of Generation Z, who have been credited with igniting the ongoing anti-Finance Bill protests, reside within the city, hence - unlike them - he will be answerable to them if he goes against their wishes and demands.

“First of all, I reject the Finance Bill, 2024. Immediately it touched everything around the common person like M-Pesa, cars, sanitary pads…I looked back and the whole generation in Lang’ata out here, having their voices so loud, even after the amendments, I had to make the choice that I’ve made today,” said Jalang’o.

“Out here is the Generation Z that I talk to everyday; I interact with them on Twitter, TikTok and everywhere…when most of you will have gone back to the villages, we will be with them here in Nairobi. Most of you know, I’m a friend to the President, I spoke to him and he knows very well that this is my stand.”