National Prayer Breakfast: Esther Passaris In Attendance At Raila's Expense
She held divergent views on the proposed Housing Levy and whether the opposition was courting the previous administration.
Marvin Chege 
Nairobi County woman representative, Esther Passaris, on Wednesday, June 7 arrived at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi for the National Prayer Breakfast, despite Azimio la Umoja leaders previously declaring that they would skip the event.
Passaris, who was elected on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket which is part of the Azimio la Umoja coalition, was photographed greeting National Assembly Leader of Majority, Kimani Ichung'wah, during their interaction on the sidelines prior to the event.
She held divergent views on the proposed Housing Levy and whether the opposition was courting the previous administration.
Nairobi Woman Representative, Esther Passaris arrives at Safari Park Hotel for the National Prayer Breakfast on June 7, 2023. /FILE
“We have to understand the place where the government finds itself. It's not Ruto's problem, it's our problem; we were part of the government in the last government. Opposition is not about combative stances, it's about working together to deliver and checking the government,” she said.
Passaris also hit out at Raila Odinga's move to boycott the prayer breakfast presided by President William Ruto, even though Azimio had announced that its members of parliament (MP) are free to attend the function.
“It is sad that my party leader Raila Odinga won’t be attending today’s prayer breakfast.
"He is always on the path of reconciliation no matter how much wrong they do to him. He wants the best for this country,” she added.
Nonetheless, she implored President William Ruto to reconcile his promises with service delivery and in an apparent defence of the Finance Bill, she claimed that the government had failed to sensitize the people fully about the Bill, saying it should not be rejected in totality.
"The government can move the Finance Bill without needing anybody else. I think the biggest problem with the Finance Bill is the public relations around it. We never sensitized the people enough about it.
"Kenyans are not trusting, and trust comes from doing good deeds. We need to reconcile our promises with our delivery," Passaris said.
On Tuesday, June 6, during an interview with KTN News outside Parliament Buildings, the woman representative expressed support for certain elements of the Finance Bill 2023, including the Housing plan, emphasising the importance of allowing President Ruto sufficient time to implement the Housing plan.
“We need to eliminate slums and all the things that come with them; there is increased crime, illegal connections of electricity, and fires every week. Nairobi should not have fancy malls like Two Rivers, Sarit and Village Market and at the same time you have people living down the road in such total indignity,” the woman representative stated.
During their declaration to boycott the breakfast, Azimio poked holes at the national event noting that it strayed from its real purpose of offering the atmosphere the country needs for humility before God, adding that the event is likely to have displays of arrogance and superiority battles mainly orchestrated by leaders from the Kenya Kwanza government.
"Instead, the event will dishonour God and country with a display of arrogance, superiority battles, false hopes to citizens and vitriolic post-event mischaracterization and misinterpretation of intentions by well-known Kenya Kwanza leaders. We have therefore declined the invitation to the breakfast," the statement read in part.
The prayers take place amid heated debate on a raft of proposed tax measures that would raise the price of food and other basic items. The Housing Fund levy has also elicited mixed reactions among public servants who are grappling with the high cost of living, increasing taxes, and a shrinking pay slip.
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