Gen Z protester Ezekiel Kyama/FILEA Gen Z activist who took part in the June 25, 2024 Occupy Parliament protests has revealed how demonstrators escorted nominated MP Jackson Kosgei out of Parliament and used his presence to safely exit the premises amid fears of a police crackdown.
Ezekiel Kyama said protesters encountered Kosgei and fellow legislator Rose Museo after many lawmakers had already fled through underground escape routes.
“It is interesting how we escaped Parliament. There is a Bishop and Nominated MP Jackson Kosgei. The physically challenged legislator was left behind after other MPs escaped through the tunnel. It was him and MP Rose Museo who were left inside Parliament,” Kyama said.
According to Kyama, protesters engaged Kosgei in conversation before offering to help him leave the building using his wheelchair.
“We started conversing, and I approached him and told him that I knew who he is and how he voted. But we are good people, and we said that we shall escort them out,” he claimed.
Kyama claimed the protesters believed police would hesitate to use force if the MP was among them as they exited Parliament.
“We came out of Parliament with him, and that is how we got our way out. We said that if the police started shooting, they would be forced to start with him. We used him as a body shield,” he said.
Despite the controversial characterisation, Kyama maintained that helping the MP leave Parliament was ultimately an act of goodwill.
“The humane thing we did was to help him. Some people would have left him there,” he added.
Kosgei has previously recounted the same incident, describing how protesters who had forced their way into Parliament reassured him that they meant him no harm despite their anger over the Finance Bill 2024.
“Well, my experience that I had with them is that, although amid expression of anger, they expressed a human face,” Kosgei said while reflecting on the June 25 protests.
“When they came in, they said, ‘Mzee, we know you and where you voted, and we know you as a good man.’ They said the question of where you voted was not an issue. They said, ‘We want to help you out because what might happen here may not be good for you."
Kosgei said the protesters then escorted him and Museo out of Parliament as crowds occupied the precincts during one of the most dramatic moments of the anti-Finance Bill demonstrations.
The June 25 protests saw thousands of young Kenyans breach Parliament grounds in opposition to the Finance Bill 2024, forcing lawmakers to flee.
The June 2024 Gen Z protests erupted across Kenya as thousands of young people took to the streets to oppose the controversial Finance Bill.
Demonstrators accused the government of introducing punitive taxes at a time when many Kenyans were struggling with a rising cost of living.
The protests reached a historic and unprecedented moment when demonstrators overwhelmed security officers and entered Parliament as lawmakers debated the Bill.
Among the images that quickly spread across social media were videos showing Kyama standing inside the parliamentary chamber, addressing the Speaker's seat and chanting anti-government slogans as protesters celebrated their entry into the heavily guarded institution.
The footage turned him into a symbol of the demonstrations and made him one of the most recognisable faces associated with the protests.
In the aftermath of the unrest, several activists and participants either went into hiding or claimed they were being pursued by authorities as investigations into the demonstrations continued.
