Kenyan MPs may still be reeling from the storming of parliament by anti-tax protesters, who overpowered police and stormed parliament on Tuesday. But two lawmakers are grateful to the intruders who came to their aid during the ordeal.
“I was very scared and prayed to God while about 22 young protesters surrounded me,” MP Rose Museo, who uses crutches, told the BBC.
She and her colleague Jackson Kosgei, who uses a wheelchair, were left stranded during the two-hour attack from which their colleagues escaped by running to safety through an underground tunnel.
The youthful protesters smashed windows and eventually entered chambers in unprecedented scenes, leaving parts of parliament severely damaged. Some even set part of the building on fire.
As an opposition MP, Ms Museo had just voted against the bill they were angry about.
When the protests began last week, they were largely peaceful. Thousands of protesters, mostly young, marched in the capital Nairobi and across the country against a controversial finance bill that would raise taxes and introduce a slew of other levies.
But tensions flared on Tuesday afternoon when the bill was passed by parliament – despite demonstrations that day drawing much larger numbers of people.
Police officers opened fire on the crowd gathered around parliament – and minutes after MPs voted, angry protesters stormed into the assembly grounds.
“Everyone was gone and I couldn’t use the elevators because the power was out,” said Museo, who was injured in a traffic accident in 2017.
Her colleague, Mr Kosgei, is from the ruling party that backed the controversial legislation aimed at wiping out the country’s nearly $80 billion (£63 billion) national debt.
“We were in the room and suddenly our young men rushed in and everyone was looking for an escape route,” Kosgei told KTN TV.
Those who broke in began destroying furniture, part of the building was set on fire, and a replica of the ceremonial mace, which symbolized the authority of the legislature, was stolen. It usually adorns the reception of a new wing of the parliamentary complex.
“It got worse and worse, but my colleague Rose Museo and I decided to go out to meet the young men because we could not escape due to our disabilities,” said Mr Kosgei, who became disabled as a child after contracting polio.
The MP, who is also a bishop in an evangelical church, did not know what would happen to him as he had voted in favor of the disputed bill.
However, the protesters did not harm the lawmakers, but rather helped them move to a safer area, where they were later evacuated from the building.
“They knew who I am and even knew how I voted,” Kosgei said.
“But they told me I was a good man and asked if they could escort me out of the building because what would happen might not be good for me.”
The parliamentary intruders even offered to get him a taxi: “They asked me if I needed an Uber, but I showed them where I wanted to stay because I knew it wasn’t safe outside parliament.”
Ms Museo agreed, saying the protesters’ altruistic attitude came as a surprise.
They addressed the two MPs, who were in the private members’ lounge at the time, telling them that they meant no harm and were merely advocating for what they believed was right.
“They held my hands and told me, ‘Our problem was the financing law’ – not us,” Ms. Museo said.
She admitted it was still a “terrifying ordeal.”
“But they weren’t harmful at all, they were very kind to me. They said to me, ‘You are our mother and we can’t hurt you.'”
Kosgei thanked the protesters for “saving my life and Ms. Museo’s life when everyone was running away.”
“Even in moments of anger and stress, they still had humanity in them,” he said.
Millie Odhiambo, a lawmaker known for her sharp words, told a local newspaper she believed the protesters were merely using the disabled lawmakers as human shields against a possible attack by police officers.
But Ms Museo said no police were present at the time the protesters helped her.
She added that she did not blame her colleagues for fleeing, as everyone had rightly become fearful of the invasion.
The lawmakers led by Speaker Moses Wetang’ula were whisked away through the tunnel that connects the Senate and National Assembly debate chambers to a new wing housing the officers of parliament.
The office part of the building is known as the Bunge Towers and opened in April.
Police eventually managed to clear the demonstrators from the building, amid clouds of tear gas and gunfire.
The MPs were hiding in bunkers in the basements of the Bunge Towers until an evacuation was organised.
To leave the complex, some lawmakers, including Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, were put into ambulances as protesters threw stones at the vehicles of lawmakers, local media reported.
Later that evening, President William Ruto called the invasion of parliament a “treacherous” act and an “existential threat”.
But given the scale of the protests – doctors say at least 23 people were killed on Tuesday – Mr Ruto bowed to pressure and said the legislation would be withdrawn.
He said he would engage in dialogue with Kenyan youth and work on austerity measures, starting with cuts to the presidency budget.
For Ms. Museo, the traumatic events have been a learning curve for politicians and demonstrated the power of the people.
She urged parliamentary authorities to set up a proper evacuation system for MPs with disabilities. She also urged that the President’s call for dialogue be taken seriously.
“The demonstrators are agitated, and rightly so, but their voices have been heard and they must now give dialogue a chance,” Museo said.
“They can go back to the streets if they are not satisfied after the dialogue.”
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