The Kenyan parliament was stormed on Tuesday as clashes broke out in the country, repressed by police with live ammunition. The demonstrators had gathered to contest the finance bill which plans to increase taxes.
Several thousand protesters stormed Kenya’s parliament this Tuesday to protest against the government’s tax proposals. Part of the building was set on fire, causing lawmakers to flee and police to fire. At least three bodies were seen outside the complex. This is the most direct attack on the government in decades.
Live ammunition
The police fired live ammunition and threw tear gas canisters at protesters seeking treatment in a medical tent at a nearby church. Elsewhere in the city, the Kenyatta National Hospital said it had recorded 45 injuries.
The Kenya Medical Association has stated that 13 people died during the clashes and reported more than 30 injured, including at least 13 by live ammunition. It is currently unclear how many people have been arrested.
The nearby office of the Nairobi governor, a member of the ruling party, was also briefly set on fire on Tuesday, with smoke billowing from its white facade. Police water cannons were used to put out the fire. Protesters could be heard shouting: “We came for each of the politicians”.
“Today’s events mark a crucial turning point in how we respond to threats to our national security”declared President William Ruto, describing the events as “treason”. Kenyan head of state pledges to quell unrest “at all costs” and has “mobilize all resources” to guarantee order. Kenya’s defense minister says the army was deployed to support the police during “the security emergency” and of “violation of critical infrastructure”.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission shared a video showing police shooting at protesters and urged Ruto to issue an immediate order to “stop the killings.”
A contested finance bill
Protesters demanded lawmakers vote against budget bill imposing new taxes on East Africa’s economic hub. The young people who had elected Ruto to power for his promises of economic aid took to the streets to oppose the high cost of living.
Lawmakers passed the bill before fleeing through a tunnel as protesters outmaneuvered police and poured in. The fire in the building was later extinguished.
Ruto was outside Nairobi to attend an African Union retreat. He is expected to sign the finance bill this week. He has two weeks to act, but faces calls from religious leaders and others to think again.
Protests spread
As crowds of demonstrators rushed to the streets on Tuesday, a movement of defiance emerged elsewhere in the country. In the town of Naivasha, where the president was, the message “Ruto must go” was chanted.
Protesters attempted to storm the State House, in the western town of Nakuru, a witness said. Clashes took place in the lakeside town of Kisumu, in the west of the country. The governor of Mombasa, Kenya’s second-largest city, joined protesters outside his office and expressed support for them.
Protesters set fire to the ruling party offices in Embu, central Kenya, the Nation newspaper reported. Citizen TV broadcast footage from Nyeri, central Kenya, showing police confronting protesters in the smoldering streets.
A national gathering of Catholic bishops urged police not to attack protesters and implored the government to listen to citizens’ pain over taxes “unjustified”asserting that “the country is bleeding and families are suffering immensely.”
Other demonstrations are planned in the coming days.