- The council has held 47 different meetings across the 47 counties in the country collecting views from Muslims.
- Kemnac chief adviser Sheikh Mohamed Dima said President Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua are wrong to force their will on the people of Kenya.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
The Muslim faithful in Kenya or their representatives should not be forced to support the proposed Finance Bill, 2023, a Muslim advisory agency has said.
The Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council on Tuesday said the Bill, if passed, will hurt both the rich and the poor.
The council has held 47 different meetings across the 47 counties in the country collecting views from Muslims.
“There are many aspects of the Bill that are not being talked about that will push the already high cost of living even higher. People are focused on only the three per cent housing levy but there is more,” Kemnac chairperson Sheikh Juma Ngao said.
He said if passed, the Bill will push the cost of fuel up by 16 per cent and this will have a domino effect of pushing all commodity prices even higher.
Sheikh Ngao said the Bill will also see more Kenyans get health issues because of the stress of living and there will be more crime in the country.
The council said the Bill will force saloon cars, station wagons, mini-buses, buses and coaches to pay Sh100 per passenger capacity per month, or Sh5,000 per year, whichever is higher.
This means even private car owners will be forced to pay a minimum of Sh400 per month to the government.
According to the Bill, vans, pick-ups, trucks, prime movers, trailers and lorries will have to pay Sh3,000 per tonne of load capacity per year or Sh5,000 per year, whichever is higher.
This means if a lorry’s tonnage capacity is 20, then the owner of the lorry will have to pay Sh60,000 per year so long as the lorry is on the road.
“This Bill also forces married couples to renew their marriage certificates every year. Does this mean that if you have a marriage certificate and you don’t renew it, you are counted as not married?” Sheikh Ngao said.
He said before the three per cent is deducted from every salaried worker, they must be shown where their house will be built first.
The Muslim cleric also warned President William Ruto against threatening MPs into voting for the Bill.
He called on Muslim MPs to reject the bill, saying their fear of Allah should be more than the fear of thePresident.
“Mr Ruto, you have no right to force anyone to support your Bill. Kenya is a democratic country where citizens can chose to vote however they like. Why are you and your deputy forcing Kenyans through their MPs to vote for the Bill?”
Sheikh Mshali Khamis, the Kemnac national deputy director for legal and religious affairs, said the Kenya Kwanza leadership is a punishment from God for turning away from Him.
Quoting the Quran, Sheikh Khamis said: “If you turn away from Allah, he will bring to you a leader who will have no mercy on you.”
He lamented that MPs are not sensitising the people they represent o and that is why many are unaware of the many dangers hidden in the Bill.
“We donated powers to these MPs but they are betraying us,” Khamis said.
Kemnac secretary general Sheikh Amadi Khamis said lawmakers are being controlled by a person who should be following the law. He urged the MPs to reject the bill as it does not favour anyone in the country.
Kemnac chief adviser Sheikh Mohamed Dima said President Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua are wrong to force their will on the people of Kenya.
“Just like in the Quran, where it is forbidden to force anyone into any religion, the President should not force the people of Kenya to support the bad Finance Bill 2023,” Sheikh Dima said.