Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has opened up for the first time about the brutality meted out to him as a result of his unwavering opposition and decision to challenge the Finance Act, 2023 in court.
Omtatah revealed at the Okoa Uchumi Forum that he is currently living with ten fake teeth after his real teeth were knocked out for allegedly refusing to accept a Ksh9 million bribe.
“The teeth I have right now are fake, 10 of them were knocked out because I refused a bribe of Ksh9 million”, the senator told the audience during the forum.
He went on to say that despite having his skull broken twice, he is still loyal to Kenya’s Constitution and will always oppose unconstitutional laws and taxes.
“My skull has been broken twice but the issue is that we must remain faithful,” stated Okiya.
“If I had taken the Ksh200 million that was given to me through some civil society activist, I wouldn’t have gotten the achievement I got”.
The political activist revealed that his next plan is to go to the Supreme Court and oppose the government’s decision to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision declaring the Finance Act, 2023 unconstitutional.
“We are going to the Supreme Court of Kenya where the Government has appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal’s judgment that declared the Finance Act, 2023 unconstitutional,” Omtatah assured Kenyans.
On August 20, 2024, the Supreme Court of Kenya (Supreme Court) issued conservatory orders suspending the Court of Appeal’s judgment on July 31, 2024, declaring the Finance Act, 2023 (the Act) unconstitutional.
“The Supreme Court of Kenya has granted conservatory orders, staying the implementation of the Court of Appeal’s judgment that declared the Finance Act, 2023 unconstitutional.”
The Supreme Court ruled that the public interest justified granting the conservatory orders at a time when the government was racing against the clock to fund its budget.
Currently, taxpayers continue to apply the provisions of the Act until the Court rules on the consolidated appeal, which is set to be heard on September 10, and September 11, 2024.
The Kenya Kwanza administration reverted to using the Finance Act of 2023 after President William Ruto was forced to withdraw the Finance Bill of 2024 due to widespread protests that culminated in Kenyan youth storming Parliament.
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