Nasa leader Raila Odinga. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Scores of other Kenyans took to social media to question Mr Odinga's 2013 Twitter post in which he opposed heavy taxation.
- His post came moments after Parliament had passed the 16 percent VAT that Mr Kenyatta revised to eight percent.
- “You cannot grow an economy on taxes,” Mr Odinga tweeted on May 27, 2013.
- Asked by Mr Morris Ndegwa on how Kenya should raise development capital, Mr Odinga, in the Twitter thread, responded: “Encouraging and fostering private enterprise.”
Kenyans, including Raila Odinga's son, have
hit out at the opposition chief after he led National Super Alliance
(Nasa) MPs in declaring support for President Kenyatta's proposal to
impose eight percent VAT on fuel.
Mr
Odinga presided over a meeting of Nasa MPs at Orange House and whipped
them into supporting the proposal, albeit with conditions.
And for this, he has angered some the million of Kenyans who are set to bear the brunt of the new taxes.
His son, Raila Junior, was among those Kenyans who took issue with the Nasa's move.
“Unfortunately
as a Kenyan citizen, I am unconvinced by the statement put out by NASA
on the VAT on fuel. Noen of the conditions they’ve put up are measurable
and even if they were they are nowhere near closing the deficit on the
debt. I call for my MP Ken Okoth to reject (President Uhuru's memorandum
to parliament)” he tweeted.
Some Nasa supporters said they read betrayal in Mr Odinga’s move, saying for long, he has been the defender of poor Kenyans.
They accused the ODM leader of “hypocrisy” in his quest for social justice.
"I
feel Raila Odinga and his Nasa brigade have betrayed us. How can they
support a move that is meant to oppress us? Is this why we voted for
them?" said Mr Bramuel Omondi, a resident of Migori.
He added: "Raila has always claimed that he
fights for the common mwananchi. This is the platform on which he has
been campaigning for the presidency in the last elections. This VAT
issue has clearly brought him out as a hypocrite. As an ardent supporter
of Raila, I am very disappointed."
Some of the supporters blamed the move on the handshake between Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta.
"If
the handshake was meant to make Nasa a government's lapdog, then it is
not helpful to us at all,” said Mr Hesbon Onyango, another Nasa
supporter.
“We have known Raila as a
man who stands with the people but of late he is not firm on issues that
affect mwananchi. He simply supports the government even when it is not
right".
Scores of other Kenyans took to social media to question Mr Odinga's 2013 Twitter post in which he opposed heavy taxation.
His post came moments after Parliament had passed the 16 percent VAT that Mr Kenyatta revised to eight percent.
“You cannot grow an economy on taxes,” Mr Odinga tweeted on May 27, 2013.
Asked
by Mr Morris Ndegwa on how Kenya should raise development capital, Mr
Odinga, in the Twitter thread, responded: “Encouraging and fostering
private enterprise.”
And in September 2013, Mr Odinga, then the Cord leader, asked the government to review the tax.
“If
the government wants to raise revenue, there are better and less
painful ways of doing so without making taxation a burden,” he said.
Some
Nasa supporters also took issue with the ODM leader’s recent assurance
that Mr Kenyatta will listen to the plight of Kenyans.
"You
should not panic at all. Very soon the President will scrap off the
heavy levy on fuel products. He listens to public outcry," Mr Odinga
said during National Government Affirmative Action Funds Football
tournament at Kenyatta Sports grounds in Kisumu.
It is this assurance that scores of Kenyans are citing in their scathing attacks.
"What
did he mean when he told us that the president will not allow any
increase in fuel taxes? Can we believe his struggle for reforms? " posed
Mr Solomon Ondieki, a Nasa supporter from Nyamira.
Abrasive
lawyer Miguna Miguna, who was deported to Canada for presiding over Mr
Odinga's mock swearing-in following the disputed 2017 election,
described Mr Odinga as a traitor.
"Mr
Odinga is a betrayer. He told Kenyans that president Uhuru Kenyatta
will reverse the 16 per cent VAT on fuel and sign into law the Bill
Parliament had passed. But President Uhuru rejected the Bill. Mr Odinga,
who has been reduced to a lapdog, still supports him," Mr Miguna said
in a tweet.
Mr Obano Ondigi posted:
"It's official, Raila Odinga has sold his soul. His political conscience
is firmly controlled by President Kenyatta. He dances to any tune
President Uhuru wants. So sad. His legacy is gone."
Mr Felix Muriithi decried the dearth of opposition in the country.
"The
official opposition of Kenya are Kenyans on Twitter. Raila Odinga and
Nasa have betrayed Kenyans with handshake. Kenyans will suffer because
of handshake was only beneficial to Raila Odinga not Kenyans."
Isaac Owiti tweeted: "Raila had to support this VAT increase or he refunds the hand cheque."
Additional report by Patrick Langat.
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