President William Ruto claimed a section of Members of Parliament took bribes to oppose the recently passed anti-money laundering law.

In a joint parliamentary group meeting with ODM and UDA MPs on Monday, August 18, Ruto claimed he had knowledge of corruption taking place within parliamentary committees.

“There are legitimate concerns about how resources are being spent at the counties, and we cannot run away. By virtue of the position I hold today, I am a consumer of raw intelligence. I know what’s going on,” he said.

The President alleged that some MPs received millions of shillings to block crucial legislation.

“Do you, for example, know that a few members of your committee collected Sh10 million shillings so that you don’t pass that law on anti-money laundering? Did you get the money?” he asked.

Ruto also questioned how some county officials were able to access huge sums of cash.

“Where does somebody find Sh150 million? Is that his money? That is money that belongs to the county,” he noted.

He noted that corruption was damaging Parliament’s credibility and eroding public trust. The President stressed that a small group within Parliament was ruining the institution’s reputation.

“There are people who are destroying the credibility of Parliament, and they are collecting money in the name of Parliament, and most of the time that money never gets to Parliament, it gets to a few people,” he said.

Ruto vowed that moving forward, the government would not just expose those involved in bribery scandals but ensure they face arrest.

“We are not going to shame them. We are going to arrest them. Both the givers and receivers must be dealt with,” he stated.