Ruto exposes MPs for taking Sh10 million bribe to block anti-money laundering law
The President claimed that some MPs were compromised with millions of shillings to frustrate critical laws.
President William Ruto has exposed a section of Members of Parliament for receiving bribes totalling Sh10 million to influence the passage of the Money Laundering Bill.
Speaking during a joint parliamentary group meeting with ODM and Kenya Kwanza legislators on Monday, Ruto said he was aware of corrupt dealings within parliamentary committees.
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“There are legitimate concerns about how resources are being spent at the counties, and we cannot run away. By virtue of the position I hold today, I am a consumer of raw intelligence. I know what's going on,” he said.
The President claimed that some MPs were compromised with millions of shillings to frustrate critical laws.
“Do you, for example, know that a few members of your committee collected Sh10 million so that you don’t pass that law on anti-money laundering? Did you get the money?” he posed.
He also questioned how some county officials access unusually large sums of cash.
“Where does somebody find Sh150 million? Is that his money? That is money that belongs to the county,” he noted.
Ruto warned that corruption was eroding the credibility of Parliament and undermining public trust.
“There are people who are destroying the credibility of Parliament, and they are collecting money in the name of Parliament, and most of the time that money never gets to Parliament, it gets to a few people,” he said.
He further criticised Welfare Chairmen in parliamentary committees, suggesting their role may be to extort MPs.
“Now, let me ask you, friends. You know we are all friends here, yeah, we are one team or so, I guess this fellow who is called the chairman of welfare in committees, what is their job? Extortion, that’s it,” Ruto said.
The President vowed that going forward, action would be taken beyond public shaming, with both givers and receivers of bribes facing arrest.
“We are not going to shame them. We are going to arrest them. Both the givers and receivers must be dealt with,” he said.
“There is a problem, and unless we sort it out, we are going to destroy our nation. We are going to destroy this nation, unless we sort it out, and we must be as candid to ourselves here as we are candid in implementing what is transformational for Kenya.”
Ruto also highlighted the need for accountability in government programmes, particularly those targeting youth empowerment, education, housing, digital jobs and labour export initiatives, stressing that public resources must benefit the people rather than being misappropriated.
“I will say this, we spend close to Sh650 billion every year in education, making sure that our young people go through ECDE, primary school, junior school, secondary school, TVETs, and universities. We must equally have clarity in how this Sh650 billion we spend every year, at the end of the day. And how do we recover that money? By making sure that our young people become a resource for the development of our nation instead of being a problem for our nation. We must do that,” he said.
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