Kuria Kimani accuses opposition of spreading misinformation about Finance Bill 2026
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, June 17, 2026National Assembly Finance Committee Chairperson Kuria Kimani has defended the Finance Bill 2026, saying the proposed legislation has undergone extensive public participation and accusing opposition leaders of misleading Kenyans about its contents.
Speaking in the precincts of Parliament on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, Kimani said the committee had engaged Kenyans before compiling its report and recommendations.
“We have carried out very extensive public participation on the Finance Bill of 2026. Yesterday we did the second reading, and now we are preparing to do the Committee of the Whole House and the Third Reading,” Kimani said.
He thanked Kenyans who submitted their views to the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, noting that the committee received an overwhelming response from the public.
“We want to thank all the members of the public who came before the Committee on Finance and National Planning and submitted more than 100,000 memoranda, which we have compiled and to which we have given individual replies,” he stated.
According to Kimani, the committee provided feedback explaining why certain proposals were accepted, why others were rejected, and which issues may be considered in future legislative amendments.
The lawmaker said it was important to clarify key issues surrounding the bill to prevent Kenyans from being misled by political narratives.
“I think it was very important that we clarify those three matters so that Kenyans are not lost in all these sideshows and all these innuendos and all these propaganda and all this disinformation and misinformation,” he said.
Kimani refutes opposition’s claims
Kimani also faulted opposition lawmakers for what he termed unsubstantiated claims during the parliamentary debate on the bill. He argued that critics were unable to identify specific provisions they had accused the government of introducing.
“And even our members of the opposition, who are trying, and you saw that yesterday in the debate when we challenged them to tell us, to show us that clause in the bill that you’re referring to, none of them were able to tell us which clause they were referring to,” he said.
The remarks come amid intense debate over the Finance Bill 2026, with government and opposition leaders sharply divided over the proposed tax and revenue measures.
As Parliament prepares for the Committee of the Whole House stage and the final vote, Kimani has urged Kenyans to rely on the official contents of the Bill and the committee’s report rather than what he described as misinformation and propaganda surrounding the legislation.