This archive report was first published on 6 November 2019.
On November 6, 2019, Kenyan lawmakers failed to protect Kenyans from expensive loans by vetoing President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to repeal the cap on interest rates.
Only 161 MPs were present when the Division bell rang for the House to take a vote, falling short of the 233 required to overturn the decision.
President Kenyatta had argued that the rate cap had choked credit to small businesses, but the National Assembly Finance Committee recommended that Kenyans with existing loans would continue making repayments at the old interest rates if the rate cap was repealed.
House Speaker Justin Muturi declared that the motion was carried due to a quorum hitch, but the declaration was met with a protest walk-out by lawmakers chanting slogans opposing the decision to repeal the interest rate cap.
Some lawmakers were accused of playing to the gallery, but not being ready to go against President Kenyatta.
Yesterday's development means the country has come full circle three years after President Kenyatta signed the Banking (Amendment) Bill, 2016, into law, which capped commercial lending rates at not more than four per cent above the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) benchmark rate.
