The 45 minutes of terror when Parliament fell

Protestors making their way to parliament in Nairobi during demonstrations against the Finance Bill 2024 in Nairobi on June 25, 2024. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

The day that had started out with anti-tax protestors milling around he city as they fought off plumes of stinging tear gas degenerated into scenes of doomsday. A few minutes past 3pm on Tuesday, June 25, the Senate and National Assembly, some of the most protected residences in the country were breached and all hell broke loose.

And for 45 minutes, mayhem, panic and bloodshed reigned stage. And the two Houses fell.

When the last gun fell silent, six people were dead, several shot and even more injured. The spark that lit the fire was the Finance Bill 2024.

Trouble began after the National Assembly passed the Finance Bill in a record two hours amid countrywide protests against the decision.

Soon, hordes of irate protestors laid siege on Parliament and eventually overran the security detail to access the precincts of what is one of the most fortified establishments in the country; They brought down the sturdy barrier next to the mausoleum where Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta is buried and used it as a gateway to Parliament.

The Senate was the first to go down. Protestors shattered windows, broke into Senators’ safe boxes and eventually made their way into the chambers which they vandalized.

Another group made its way towards the National Assembly’s reception where they stole a replica of the mace—usually placed there for decorative purposes—before forcing their way into the chambers where they descended on Ipads, transmitters and even ran a mock “address” of the House.

Just a few metres away from the chambers, another mob treated itself to the culinary delights at the canteen and members’ lounge, destroyed the imported furniture, carried what they could before proceeding to Parliament’s new wing where they set offices on fire.

Anything they perceived to be of value and immovable, they broke. Anything they considered useful to the legislators, they set ablaze.

As the events escalated, MPs were busy scampering to safety in their offices. But soon enough, they realized that those, too, would not shield them from the anger of the protestors.

First to be whisked away by the sergeants-at-arms was the Speaker of the House Moses Wetang'ula whose evacuation was profoundly aided by the presence of an underground tunnel connecting the main Parliament precincts to the newly constructed Bunge towers.

Surrounded by his security, Wetang'ula went under the Sh150 million tunnel and came out on the other side of “victory” where a vehicle was waiting for him. He fled in fear of his life.

Following suit were other members of Parliament who vacated the premises in waves. But as fate would have it, some could not leave with their fuel guzzlers and resulted in boarding ambulances that sneaked them out of the towers right under the noses of the protestors.

Suba South MP Millie Odhiambo recalls the unprecedented attack on Parliament as “sad” and “confusing”.

“At that point, we were asked to leave for the now famous tunnel by Parliamentary security, I went to get my bag that I had left with one of the security officers who was in one of our lounges. Most MPs had taken off or were taking off in a huff. I found my colleagues with disability in the lounge. They were evidently scared. As I left, they asked me " Millie you are leaving us here?" she revealed yesterday.

“There was confusion and pandemonium. I got into a moral dilemma. Do I stay and hope that they would not be harmed because of my presence or would my presence lead to inferences of collaboration that some quarters have been so desperately trying to spin?

I decided to leave and assured them that they will not be harmed because of the disability but they should remain in that room. Later, I saw Bishop on the news, being wheeled by demonstrators in his wheelchair on the streets and almost got a heart attack. I am told he was used as a human shield against possible attack by the police,” added the MP.

Millie further narrated how she spent close to two hours in the tunnel before eventually making it to safety.

“As I moved on, I found one woman MP who had despaired just seated where she would have been an easy target. She was too traumatized to move. She had voted no.  The confusion and reactions in the tunnels are stories for another day.  One of my colleagues in the category of " wanted" by the public, came out wearing a hoodie and a mask and passed me as I sat exhausted on the stairs after walking up a few floors and I was being assisted by some staff.

The elevators were painfully slow hence the stairs. The catalogue he had on was good but I could tell who he was. To enable him gain confidence, I pretended I did not recognize him but greeted the one who was accompanying him who had not done a good job. There was terror in the eyes of most MPs. It was a terrifying two hours,” stated Millie.

She said, “What happened yesterday (Tuesday) should never happen again in this country- not by  a show of might, but through listening and talking to each other."

On Wednesday, a day after one of Kenya’s darkest moments, both the National Assembly and the Senate held their sittings. The National Assembly resolved to proceed for short recess and resume sittings on July 23.