NAIROBI, Kenya, June 25, (AP): Part of Kenya's parliament building was on fire Tuesday as thousands of protesters against a new finance bill entered and legislators fled, in the most direct assault on the government in decades. Journalists saw at least three bodies outside the complex where police had opened fire.
Protesters had demanded that legislators vote against the bill imposing new taxes on a country, East Africa's economic hub, where frustrations over the high cost of living have simmered for years.
The protesters, many of them youth, outmaneuvered police to enter parliament shortly after legislators voted to pass the bill. Lawmakers fled through a tunnel, but protesters allowed opposition legislators who voted against the bill to walk out of the besieged building.
One person shot dead was wrapped in a Kenyan flag and carried away.
The office of the Nairobi governor, a member of the ruling party, was also briefly on fire. The office is located near parliament. Police water cannons were used to extinguish the fire.
Protesters could be heard shouting, "We’re coming for every politician."
Police also fired live ammunition and threw tear gas canisters at protesters who sought treatment at a medical tent set up at a church near the parliament complex.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission shared a video of officers shooting at protesters and said they would be held to account.