‘I only gave them pumpkin soup’ – Osoro denies paying Azimio MPs to skip Finance Bill vote

South Mugirango Member of Parliament (MP) Silvanus Osoro has denied paying Azimio la moja – One Kenya coalition MPs to skip the voting of the Finance Bill 2023.

This is after a report claimed that the MP had confessed that he used cunning methods to get the MPs to skip the debate of the controversial Bill assented into law by President William Ruto on June 26, 2023.

According to the report by the Nation, Osoro conspired with a section of the aforementioned MPs to skip the session through bribery and travel sponsorships. Others reportedly feigned illnesses to be absent.

“I had to look for ways by hook or crook to get it through. I had to manipulate systems; I looked for ways to get the opposition MPs to play to our tune. I conspired with some opposition MPs and got some of them to be absent from the House so that I could get the numbers. Some of them were sponsored to go abroad while others were bribed to feign illness,” Osoro was quoted as saying.

But in a response on Saturday, July 8, 2023, the lawmaker refuted the claims noting that he was misquoted.

While insisting that his statement was misunderstood, the lawmaker said he only invited the MPs to share a bowl of soup at the parliament’s canteen.

“I am in charge of catering in the catering committee in parliament and I just said that I invited members from the opposition and I put them in the kitchen where our mess hall is and we had pumpkin soup now you went and changed that saying that a bowl of soup translates to money, MPs take soup as well,” he stated.

In the same breath, the legislator scoffed at claims that the government pursued the MPs to skip parliamentary sessions during the voting of the Bill.

“The government did not use a single cent to convince Azimio MPs to vote they just did not show up. People should stop soiling the government’s name and those of MPs,” he added.