ODM Leader Raila Odinga Thanks ODM MPS Who Passed Tax Law

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga on Saturday thanked the legislators under his party who, despite the pressure, pushed to pass the Finance Bill, 2018.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Dennis Onyango, the former Prime Minister lauded the MPs who stood by the party's position during the session that was marred with controversy.

"Raila Odinga wishes to thank all Orange Democratic Movement members of Parliament who observed the principle of party discipline and stood by the Party and NASA’s resolutions to back the Finance Bill in the National Assembly on Thursday.

"Mr Odinga, therefore, thanks those members who, despite different concerns, were able to honour their word and commitment to the party and looked at the larger picture in line with the party and the coalition’s dream of finding longer-term solutions to the country’s ages old problems," the statement read in part.

He added that party discipline was key in enabling the Parliamentary Group to support the policies and directions of the party.

The ODM leader affirmed that the same was critical to strengthening the political parties system in the country, delivery of the party’s agenda and aiding the process of democratisation.

"More importantly, Mr Odinga believes that party discipline is going to play a critical role as Kenyans seek to actualize the dreams of the country’s rebirth and re-engineering as contained in the nine-point Building Bridges to the New Kenyan Nation MOU," he stated.

Mr Odinga further assured Kenyans of his commitment to the pursuit of a lasting solution to "the country’s decades-old problems through pragmatic steps arrived at through bipartisan support devoid of the traditional rhetoric and brinkmanship."

A day after the vote, one of the MPs, Sam Atandi (Alego Usonga) defended his voting for the bill.

"I am part of the leadership of this country and there are some decisions we must make for the good of Kenya, from a broad perspective.

"As MPs, we are guided by our parties. My party took a position and I stood by it," he stated on Citizen TV.