National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has dismissed claims that the Finance Bill, 2026, aims to slap an annual land rent on freehold land. He accused Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka of spreading misinformation and politicizing the proposed tax measures.
Speaking at the National Treasury Buildings, Mbadi outlined the bill’s key provisions and asserted that false information circulating online has completely misrepresented the draft law.
The Treasury boss challenged critics to point out the specific clauses they deem punitive, arguing that the heavy accusations leveled against the legislation simply do not match its actual contents. “I’m the one who drafted and actually submitted the Finance Bill, and I ask myself, ‘which are these punitive tax measures that I’m not aware of?’” Mbadi said.
Mbadi added that he even reviewed the document again to check if any controversial provisions had slipped through the cracks, but found absolutely no basis for the public outcry.
“So, I’m really curious what is really happening because someone says punitive taxes, but when you go into the details, they don’t highlight those so-called punitive tax measures. Then I ask myself, is it politicizing the Finance Bill of 2026?” he posed.
Mbadi’s remarks fired back at comments Kalonzo made during a church service on Sunday, where the Wiper leader claimed the Finance Bill quietly sneaks in a tax on freehold land by converting it into leasehold tenure, effectively forcing landowners to pay an annual rent.
Kalonzo argued that the proposal would heavily impact Kenyans who inherited land from their ancestors, alongside entire communities holding ancestral land.
“So now your grandchildren will be paying rent because leasehold means you pay rent. This is what this administration is trying to introduce, so we are saying reject, reject, reject,” Kalonzo rallied.
However, Mbadi completely dismantled those claims, pointing out that none of the 57 clauses in the Bill touch on land ownership, leasehold conversion, or land taxation.
“If there is a problem with the Finance Bill, 2026, let’s point it out, and then we deal with it, but let us notpoliticize,” he urged. He specifically called out the opposition leader’s legal background to highlight the contradiction. “Hon Kalonzo is a lawyer. I wish he could point out in the Bill that is before the National Assembly any clause that talks about leasehold land or freehold land and taxation,” he added.
The Treasury boss went even further, accusing Kalonzo of knowingly peddling falsehoods to the public.
“To me, it’s irresponsible for a leader of such stature to propagate propaganda because I know he knows that is lying. That is irresponsible politics,” Mbadi stated.
