Ruto vows to arrest corrupt MPs

President William Ruto has issued a stern warning to corrupt Members of Parliament, vowing to arrest both givers and takers of bribes tied to legislative processes.

The Head of State called out the Members of Parliament on Monday, August 18, 2025, during the ODM and Kenya Kwanza talks held in Karen, Nairobi.

Ruto, while issuing the stern warning, noted that both the bribe-givers and recipients will face legal consequences, signalling a tough stance on legislative corruption.

Subsequently, Ruto accused a group of MPs of pocketing Ksh10 million to pass the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, a law with far-reaching consequences for financial regulation in Kenya.

“We are not going to shame them, we are going to arrest them, whoever is giving and whoever is being given, we shall sort them out.

“Do you, for example, know that a few members of your committee collected Ksh10 million so that you can pass the law on anti-money laundering? Did you get the money?” Ruto said.

In addition, Ruto revealed that a handful of individuals were tarnishing Parliament’s credibility by collecting money using Parliament’s name, which he further stated that at most times, the money never ends up in Parliament; instead, it ends up with a few people.

“Going forward, there are people who are destroying the credibility of Parliament, and they are collecting money in the name of Parliament, and some of the time or most of the time that money never gets to Parliament, it gets to a few people”, Ruto noted.

Ruto calls out MPs

Worth noting, his remarks come up just days after he revealed that some Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators are taking bribes to influence decisions in the National Assembly and Senate.

Speaking during the opening of the Devolution Conference in Homa Bay on Wednesday, August 13, Ruto said lawmakers in parliamentary committees are demanding bribes from the Executive, Cabinet Secretaries, people working within the Executive and Governors to sway decisions in their favour.

Ruto was responding to sentiments made by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, who had called for governors and their county governments to be held to account over their dealings.

“While I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Speaker of the Senate, and he has made a solid statement on holding governors and county governments to account, the Legislature must also be held to account because there is something going on in our legislature that we must call out,” Ruto stated.

“There is money being demanded from the executive, governors, and Cabinet Secretaries, especially those who go for accountability before our houses of Parliament. It cannot continue to be business as usual.”