Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro removed from Budget Committee in latest Parliamentary reshuffle

Kiharu Member of Parliament, Ndindi Nyoro, has been kicked out of the Budget and Appropriations Committee and reassigned to the Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers Committee, following sweeping changes in the National Assembly Departmental Committees.

The changes, communicated on Tuesday by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, were part of a motion tabled by the Committee on Selection, which oversees House committee placements.

“Further to the resolution of the House of Wednesday, March 5, 2025, and Thursday, March 6, 2025, appointing members to various committees and pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 175, this House further approves the appointment of the following members to the respective committees as specified hereunder,” reads the motion.

According to the new line-up, Nyoro has been removed from the powerful Budget and Appropriations Committee and will now serve in the Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers Committee, replacing Sankaire Leah Sopiato. Mathioya MP Dr Edwin Gishuk Mugo will take Nyoro’s place in the Budget Committee.

While the Speaker did not give reasons for the reshuffle, the timing has drawn attention, particularly as Nyoro has grown increasingly critical of the government’s economic policies in recent months.

The Kiharu legislator has publicly questioned the government’s explanation for the recent spike in fuel prices, dismissing the Energy Ministry’s claim that global oil trends were to blame.

“Global oil prices peaked last year, not this year,” he said, accusing the government of using misleading narratives to justify high pump prices. According to him, the true cause lies in excessive domestic taxation and the securitisation of fuel levies.

Nyoro has also taken aim at the government’s new borrowing model, criticising the Sh44.8 billion Talanta Infrastructure Bond issued through the Nairobi Securities Exchange to fund the Talanta Sports Complex ahead of the 2027 AFCON Cup.

While President William Ruto has defended the bond as a financial innovation that mobilises local capital and reduces reliance on foreign loans, Nyoro, termed the move as fiscally reckless.

“The Kenyan government has borrowed Sh44.8 billion. That money is money to be spent today, but paid through taxes for the next 15 years,” he said.

“The interest rate is 15.04 per cent. At that rate, it means the government from the Sports Fund will be paying around Sh3.4 billion every six months.”

He warned that the country will end up paying over Sh100 billion in interest alone over the bond’s 15-year maturity period, a move he said no sound economist would endorse.

Nyoro has also faulted the government’s housing levy, arguing it has damaged the economy despite its intention to fund affordable housing.

He pointed to a report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, which showed that the construction sector shrank by more than two per cent in 2024, the first contraction in over a decade, with rising building material costs, reduced cement consumption and a drop in sector lending by commercial banks.

“These statistics show that when the government started deducting the levy, it shrunk the circulation of money in the economy,” he said.

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“Someone who would send their parents Sh5,000 every month to buy cement and stones and construct a semi-permanent house or buy some sugar, no longer does.”

Nyoro argued the levy was initially presented as a refundable contribution before being converted into a mandatory, non-refundable charge, a policy shift he says has hurt low-income Kenyans and stifled informal construction activity.

The reshuffle has also seen other Members of Parliament reassigned across various National Assembly Departmental Committees. In the Blue Economy, Water and Irrigation Committee, Juja MP Stanley Muiruri Muthama replaces Njoro MP Charity Kathambi Chepkwony, while Bensuda Joyce Atieno Osogo, MP for Migori County, has been appointed to fill the vacancy left by the late Kabondo Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were.

On the Labour Committee, Maragua MP Mary Wamaua Njoroge has replaced Nakuru Woman Representative Liza Chelule Chepkorir.

In a further switch, Chelule has been moved to the Regional Development Committee, taking the slot previously held by Mary Emaase Otucho (Teso South).

Tourism and Wildlife has also seen changes, with Leah Sopiato Sankaire (Kajiado) moving in to replace Mathioya MP Edwin Gishuki Mugo, who, in turn, now joins the powerful Budget and Appropriations Committee, replacing Ndindi Nyoro.

In the Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee, Matayos MP John Okano Bwire has been appointed to the position formerly held by Geoffrey Kiringa Ruku (Mbeere North).

The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee now has a new face with Kitui East MP Nimrod Mbithuka Mbai replacing Runyenjes MP Eric Muchangi Karemba.

In the Public Petitions Committee, Karemba has been moved in to replace Kibai Ernest Ogesi Kagesi (West Mugirango), while Chuka/Igambang’ombe MP Patrick Munene Ntwiga takes over from Mbai.

Speaker Wetang’ula, in making the announcements, noted that the reassignments were in line with the House’s mandate to ensure committees remain effective, representative and aligned with evolving legislative priorities.