By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL REPORTER
In a historic event, protestors on Tuesday stormed Kenya’s Parliament Buildings to express their outrage after MPS allied to President William Ruto voted to pass the contentious and controversial Finance Bill 2024.
Chanting patriotic slogans amid whistling and horns in an atmosphere that turned carnival amid the tragedy and violence unleashed by the state, the youthful protestors burst into Parliament after tossing aside the barriers that had been erected by police. In the struggle between police and protestors, police, among whom Nairobi Regional Commander Adamson Bungei was later seen, open fire indiscriminately, killing an unknown number of unmarred protestors.
Some officers confronted some female protestors outside the Parliament fence and hit them with clubs, prompting the young women to ask, “why are you beating us?”
Police teargassed health volunteers who were rescuing injured people. 30 to 40 had been injured with broken limbs or suffered gunshots in their thighs with about 10 who received serious injuries. Medical personnel wee alter teargassed in the tents hey were working in at the Holy Family Basilica next door to parliament.
Sporadic gunfire was heard above the shouts of “Ruto Must Go! Mwizi!” that rent their air in the Nairobi city centre and in the areas around Parliament. Once in the precincts, the youths raided the Parliament cafeteria, which is not accessible to members of the public, and helped themselves to sumptuous lunches left behind by fleeing MPs. Many o he MPs, led by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, were smuggled out or fled the scene through the underground tunnel that connects the old Parliament Buildings and the new tower of offices built at an exaggerated cost far beyond any that has bene seen in Kenya. Ruto refused to investigate even after complaints wee raised.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki had earlier promised order and peace and it was expected that there would be no live bullets used against the demonstrators.
The Tuesday activities were the clearest demonstration of the exasperation that Kenyans feel about the administration of William Ruto, who has promised ore than can be delivered in a lifetime through a web of lies and reckless promises.
Very little has been done to addressing rising corruption, some of which is associated with Ruto and his friends and has ked to a struggle between him and his deputy, Rigathi Gacagua, as the latter complains that he has been left out of the gravy train and the President’s friends have so much money that they canary it in sacks to churches. Gacagua has been waiting on the wings, perhaps salivating at the prospects of Ruto being ejected from the seat to allow him to tackle over, but indications are that he would face a rebellion from angry Kenyans.
President William Ruto, 57, is a, member of the collection of tribes known as the Kalenjin, from which former President Daniel arap Moi came. He has used tribe to mobilise effectively in his rise to power, teaming up with former President Uhuru Kenyatta to mount a tribally inspired campaign that saw the vanquishing of Raila Odinga. But since he took over, Ruto has been more of talk and very little action and corruption is believed to have spiraled out of control as police take bribes in the streets openly, governors steal from their counties and MPS help themselves to constituency cash. Ruto has also empower a tribal clique around him, led by his fiends Farouk Kibet, Kapseret MP Osacr Sudi, transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen and a few others who have bene the subject of Gacagua’s attacks for their large donations to churches.