Nairobi, June 26- President William Ruto has officially signed the 2025 Finance Bill into law, sealing the government’s fiscal plans for the upcoming financial year despite pockets of public concern over some of its proposals.
Ruto assented to the bill on Thursday morning at State House, Nairobi, just days after Members of Parliament passed it in a heated session. While this year’s bill steered clear of introducing new taxes—likely in response to last year’s deadly protests over the 2024 Finance Bill it still contained controversial clauses.
One such proposal aimed to give the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) the power to access citizens’ personal and financial data, sparking public backlash. MPs eventually voted to drop the clause before the bill was submitted to the President.
The Finance Bill complements the Ksh.4.2 trillion 2025/26 budget presented by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi earlier this month. The Treasury aims to raise at least Ksh.30 billion in additional revenue from the bill’s measures.
During the same signing ceremony, Ruto also assented to the 2025 Appropriation Bill, authorizing the government to withdraw Ksh.1.88 trillion from the Consolidated Fund. The funds will be used to run government operations, with an additional Ksh.672 billion in Appropriation-in-Aid approved for use by ministries, departments, and state agencies.
The signing came a day after the June 25 Gen Z protests, where thousands of young Kenyans gathered across the country some peacefully, others in tense standoffs with police—raising concerns about transparency, taxation, and accountability in public finance.
