President William Ruto declined to assent to the Conflict of Interest Bill of 2023 on Thursday, April 17, 2025, and instead sent it back to Parliament for adjustments.
Speaking at the State House, Ruto observed that the bill, which set out to impose stringent penalties on public officials illegally doing business with the government, had been watered down.
“President William Ruto on Thursday morning referred the Conflict of Interest Bill 2025 back to Parliament for reconsideration,” a statement from State House reads.
Anti-corruption measures
“In his commitment to tackling corruption, accountable leadership and integrity in public service, the President has been urging Parliament to pass the Conflict of Interest Bill without delay. He, however, made it clear that he would veto any version of the Bill that failed to set a high standard for accountability, integrity, and anti-corruption measures.”
Ruto indicated that despite the bill’s interpretation of conflict of interest, it fails to impose stringent measures on public officials, including members of parliament, found doing business with the state.
“While the Bill as presented largely addresses the subject of conflict of interest, the President has noted the need for further improvements to strengthen its provisions on transparency and enforcement to align it with the constitutional values of integrity and good governance,” Ruto notes.
“Consequently, in accordance with Article 115 of the Constitution, President Ruto has referred the Bill back to Parliament, with a memorandum, for reconsideration.”
“In my opinion, the bill does not meet the threshold of the expectation of the people of Kenya. As public servants, we cannot afford to carry the baggage of self-interest into public service,” Ruto remarked.
Edited bill
“We must take accountability with the seriousness it deserves. I expect both houses of parliament to exercise leadership in making sure that we get a piece of law that will help us manage and eliminate matters corruption that in many cases come as a result of conflict of interest of public officials who serve not the public, but their interests.”
The bill was passed after Ruto, during his state of the nation address on November 21, 2024, implored members of parliament to stop dragging their feet on the matter.
However, the MPs would pass the bill, albeit with massive edits which removed stringent punitive measures for public officials found culpable of violating the Conflict of Interest law.
“I implore you members that you must stop dragging your feet and stop sabotaging the passage of the Conflict of Interest Bill,” Ruto said during the November address.
“Unless my friends, there is a conflict in passing the Conflict of Interest legislation,” he added.