South Mugirango Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvanus Osoro has revealed how his life changed following the invasion of Parliament on June 25, 2024, after the controversial Finance Bill 2024 was passed.
In the invasion that saw MPs scamper for safety as they were evacuated through a secret tunnel, Osoro says changed his life for a while as the protests raged.
“We suddenly became aliens even to our friends. I called one on a very unrelated matter and before I said a word, he told me usiniambie uko kwangu bro, tutachomewa,’ (our house could be torched if you come over),” Osoro said.
The destruction of property started in Parliament immediately after the protesters overran the security ring around Parliament and accessed the chambers.
Several vehicles belonging to the MPs had their windows shattered and vandalized.
“I hanged up, called another one who told me: ‘Pole bro, naomba tu utoe hizo gari kwako but usilete kwangu, ni noma‘, (Sorry brother, please relocate your cars from your house to somewhere else, but do not bring them to my place. Things are bad.) Mark you, all those calls were unrelated to my predicament. Some calls went un-answered. Then texts from known and unknown ‘Tutaona vile utaishi now that WSR will be out.’ (We’ll see how you will continue to live now that WSR will be out),” Osoro continued.
Osoro loses friends
The Majority Whip recounted losing friends during the week following the Parliament invasion, saying that most people who would regularly pass by to check on him did so because of the promise of getting their wishes granted.
Osoro said he would be writing a book on the tragic encounter which has never occurred in the country’s history.
During the invasion, MPs who could not be evacuated by choppers from the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) explored other means.
In an interview with a local media house, Ugenya MP David Ochieng said he walked on foot from the KICC to Nyayo Stadium before hoping on a boda boda to his residence.
The protests led to President William Ruto to decline to assent the bill and order its withdrawal, citing widespread public disapproval.
The bill’s sponsor, Molo MP, Kimani Kuria had his home torched in the violence that came following the bulldozing of the Finance Bill 2024 in Parliament.
Opposition MPs who voted against the bill were not spared either, as the protesters expressed their rage in the invasion that saw several demonstrators shot dead along Parliament Road.