Protest and Chaos in Nairobi: A Firsthand Account

We are learning that lawmakers in Kenya's parliament, which is on fire, have been forced to escape through an underground channel after protesters got inside the parliament building. That is according to CNN affiliate NTV Kenya. Our CNN team on the scene reported seeing at least two bodies lying on the ground after police fired live rounds at protesters earlier. Police also used tear gas in a live interview with Barack Obama's half-sister, who is an activist. She was speaking to Larry Madowo.

Activist's Plea

"I'm here because look at what's happening. Young Kenyans are demonstrating for their rights. They're demonstrating with flags and banners. I can't even see anymore. They're being tear-gassed. They're being tear-gassed. I'm people consuming."

On the Streets of Nairobi

Becky, we're on the street. This is one of the main streets here in Nairobi. We see police in a truck here trying to fire tear gas at the protesters, who in many cases keep sending it back to them. The street is littered with a lot of debris, things that have come from the surrounding offices. We're quickly getting enveloped with tear gas, as you see here.

So we're going to need to move quickly. The protesters have been beaten back to the side of that street. This street is entirely empty. This is usually rush hour. It would be a busy time in the city. We don't see any of that.

Widespread Looting

One of the things that appears to have happened in the last few hours is that some people are taking advantage of these protests against the high cost of living to do looting. So we've seen some widespread looting in the shops around here. People breaking into these buildings and taking whatever they can. We saw one man walking away with a TV set on his back. This is just one that's completely vandalized here, but there's a lot of them. On this street, all across it, a lot of these offices appear to have been looted and everything taken out. The glass shattered. This is a Forex bureau next to it here that has nothing left over.

That's part of the reason why the police are trying to send them away, because they are looting people's businesses.

Personal Stories of Loss

This is another one as well. Sir, is this your business? I just want to... I'm sorry sir, do you want to come and talk to me? Come, we're live on CNN. Come and talk to me, sir. And this is just another shop next to him. All of this is looted. This paper is strewn all over the ground. No valuables appear to have been left here. This is one businessman who is just kind of sifting through what's left of his shop.

"What is your name, sir?"

"I'm Ismail."

"What happened? What happened to your shop? Were you here when this happened?"

"I was here, but I was helpless. I called the police. Nobody responded. And this is what happened now."

"You've lost everything in the shop? Nothing, nothing you can tell me now."

"I'm sorry, Ismail."

So there's going to be a lot of people on this street counting their losses after this latest round of demonstrations, which were largely peaceful, but also there's been some widespread looting around here.

Escalation and Curfew

We saw a shell of a car burnt out back there. The police have managed to keep them away from parliament and push them all the way back there. Down at the end of this street is the Supreme Court of Kenya. And that is a buffer between the protesters and the police, and they're still patrolling this area, making sure that there are no protesters coming back here.

But that is what this has now degenerated into, what were protests about the cost of living, now looting Becky. There is a curfew, which the police, I assume, will enforce around 6.30, which is about an hour from now.

You've been in the thick of this all day. How would you describe the atmosphere at half past, what, five now on Tuesday afternoon? Does it feel as if things are calming down? Or do you expect that things could kick off again? Things are not calming down. If anything, things appear to be escalating as we're getting closer to that curfew. The government ordered all the protesters to end their activities by 6.30 p.m. local time. So that's in just under an hour.

Political Reactions

Larry, this finance bill is at the heart of these demonstrations. Are parliamentarians listening? Is the voice of those who are demonstrating being heard? It's hard to tell. There's been a mixed reaction on that. The opposition MPs have pulled out from this process, stopped recommending amendments and said they wanted this to be completely rejected. Some government MPs have also apologized. One famous lawmaker initially said these were fake demonstrations but now he has come out to apologize and said he hears the voice of the young people.

This is the shell of the car I was telling you about, completely burnt out. As we can see that fire there, that is a part of city hall, the office of the governor of Nairobi that's now on fire. This is a fire that appears to be burning right now in one office building. I'm not sure what office specifically that is but part of the other windows of that are shattered so this has escalated quite a bit. As darkness falls, it's possible that it could get worse.

Expert Insight

Larry, I want to bring back a guest that we were speaking to earlier. Stella Agara is a tax justice activist in Nairobi, and Stella, you were explaining exactly what went into that finance bill and why it was so contentious and controversial for so many youngsters who are now demonstrating on the streets. Do you expect to hear enough from parliamentarians that is going to quell this sense or this unrest that we are seeing or not? Do you see this tempering in any way?

Unfortunately, the ship has sailed for parliamentarians. While the protests were going on today, this bill was going through its second reading, and they were voting for it close by close. They went through that process very fast and when it was done, the speaker moved