Ruto Defends Withdrawn 2024 Finance Bill, Claims Provisions Were Passed Later

Ruto Defends Withdrawn 2024 Finance Bill, Claims Provisions Were Passed Later

President William Ruto has defended the controversial Finance Bill 2024, asserting that his administration eventually enacted all its provisions through subsequent legislation after withdrawing the original draft in response to widespread public protests.

Speaking on Sunday, October 25, 2026, during a church service at Africa Inland Church (AIC) Kasina in Mwingi Constituency, Kitui County, President Ruto attributed the intense public outrage surrounding the initial bill to a deliberate misinformation campaign.

“We had to stop the Finance Bill not because it was wrong, but because of propaganda,” President Ruto said. He noted that the government chose to reintroduce and pass the bill’s core clauses after the public misrepresentations were addressed, maintaining that “there was nothing wrong” with the proposed measures.

The original Finance Bill 2024 triggered massive youth-led, nationwide demonstrations across Kenya during June and July 2024. Opposition to proposed tax increases culminated in the breach of Parliament on June 25, 2024, which prompted the Head of State to decline signing the bill into law.

However, the administration later repackaged key revenue measures into separate legal frameworks, including the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2024, the Business Laws (Amendment) Act 2024, and the Tax Procedures (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2024, all of which Ruto signed into law on December 11, 2024.

Highly contested initial proposals—such as the motor vehicle tax, eco-levy, and a 16 percent VAT on bread—were dropped following public outcry.

During his address in Kitui County, President Ruto also cautioned political leaders against using false information to manipulate young citizens for political leverage. Dismissing recent claims that the government intends to ban the live streaming of election results as “fake news,” he reiterated that transparent, real-time result transmission remains a fundamental right for all Kenyans.

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