The surging crowd, mostly youths, surrounded Parliament from nearly all corners, brought down parliamentary gates near the Jomo Kenyatta mausoleum under heavy clouds of tear gas.
Police fired live bullets, killing an unknown number of people as MPs fled the rowdy mobs.
Protesters could be seen lying on Parliament Road, some in a pool of blood, but it was unclear whether they were alive or dead.
The Star was able to count at least three bodies lying on Parliament Road.
The scared MPs hid in the underground tunnel of the newly constructed Bunge Towers as the protesters rampaged through Parliament, breaking windows and insulting the lawmakers as betrayers.
Once inside Parliament, they uprooted the national flag, broke into the Senate and turned everything upside down, taking with them valuables.
They then set a section of Parliament on fire but which was quickly contained.
This is probably the worst security breach since independence
Once things calmed down, scenes of destruction were all visible, especially in the Senate.
Furniture was in disarray, seats strewn around, cupboards ransacked, flags torn and windows broken.
Amid the confusion, City Hall, the seat of power of the Nairobi governor, was also set on fire.
It was, however, quickly contained.
The rioters also invaded the MPs’ restaurant, overturned tables and chairs in a scene reminiscent of the Hollywood block buster Prison Break.
Parliament is one of the most heavily guarded government installations after State House.
It has a designated police station, round-the-clock surveillance by the dreaded elite GSU officers and a plethora of Bunge security officers, mostly retired police and military officers.
A senior parliamentary orderly was heard saying, “This is unprecedented. I have never seen MPs this shaken.”
The mobs of protesters broke through both the National Assembly and Senate chambers and carried away the dummy of the Senate mace, forcing the lawmakers to flee.
The mace is the insignia of House authority and is always heavily guarded.
Both Houses were forced to abruptly adjourn afternoon sessions amid tear gas as the officers attempted, in vain, to bar the protesters from accessing Parliament.
“Ruto must go! We are here! This country is ours!” a protester yelled from inside the Senate debating chamber.
The MPs scampered for safety as they escaped from the main Parliament Buildings.
They took cover in the underground tunnel with others crossing over to the new Bunge Towers for safety.
“You are laughing here. Do you think if they (protesters) storm here they will spare you?” an MP said as she scampered out of Parliament Buildings.
While struggling to fight tears amid tear gas, another MP said, “I have never seen this before. It’s bad. It’s my life.”
Later, the military was seen entering Parliament Buildings in a truck to restore order. At press time, Parliament had not issued any statement on the raid.
Earlier in the day, the usually busy Uhuru Highway was a no-go zone as police battled the relentless protesters who were charging towards Parliament.
At the adjacent City Hall, the protesters set Governor Johnson Sakaja’s office on fire in a day of unprecedented rage.
The protesters, mainly youths, stormed the streets to demand the rejection of the ‘punitive’ Finance Bill, 2024, in countrywide demos that also rocked President William Ruto's and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s home turfs.
Gunshots, tears and running battles marked the #totalshutdown# demos even as the MPs voted to amend various clauses fronted by the National Assembly’s Finance Committee.
Transport was paralysed and business premises closed hurriedly as gunshots and tear gas rent the air in major towns across the country.
Ruto’s hometown, Eldoret, in Uasin Gishu county and Gachagua’s Nyeri town in Nyeri county witnessed massive protests for the second time in as many weeks.
The youths also staged demos in the duo’s political strongholds of Kericho, Nakuru, Narok, Turkana, Embu, Meru, Kajiado, Laikipia, Nyandarua, Kiambu and Murang’a.
The unprecedented demos in Ruto's and Gachagua’s home turfs signify revolt that could spell political doom for the two top leaders.
Ruto and Gachagua have enjoyed massive political following in their regions. Last year, the regions avoided protests that were mainly led by the opposition.
Nairobi witnessed perhaps the worst and most severe protests that were mainly centred around Parliament Buildings where the lawmakers were passing the controversial bill.
Demos were also staged in Kisumu, Kakamega, Bungoma, Vihiga, Kisii, Nyamira, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Kilifi, Isiolo, Kwale and Kajiado.
Other counties that witnessed protests are Siaya, Trans Nzoia, Bomet, Samburu, West Pokot, Makueni, Machakos, Garissa, Marsabit and Kirinyaga.
In Eldoret, the demonstrators torched the Uasin Gishu county court building and several county vehicles.
They stormed, vandalised and looted a club in Eldoret associated with Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi. The club known as Timber XO is located along the Eldoret-Nairobi Road.
The club was officially opened a few weeks ago during a ceremony attended by Sudi and several other MPs.
The protestors marched from Eldoret CBD to the club where they stormed and destroyed glass walls, windows and doors.
In Nakuru, protesters stormed the streets of the city carrying placards as they chanted "Ruto Must Go!"
They threatened to burn Nakuru State House.
Unconfirmed reports indicated that at least one person was shot dead and others injured in Isiolo county.
Among those injured was a 17-year-old student who was shot in the back. Two boda boda riders are nursing injuries in the thighs and legs.
The initially peaceful demos turned chaotic after a group of youths countering the protests, allegedly paid by local politicians, lit bonfires and barricaded the Isiolo-Moyale road.
In Kisumu, the youths gathered at Kondele grounds as early as 9am where they started moving in groups and eventually began the protests.
"Hatutachoka kuandamana [we will not grow tired of protesting]. This is our time and we will teach them a lesson," shouted one youth.
Businesses in the lakeside city remained closed, with shops including supermarkets that had been earlier opened hastily shutting down by 9am.
Transport was severely disrupted, with few motorists seen stranded on the roads.
Police officers monitored the protestors along the streets.
The situation was the same in Machakos, where business was brought to a standstill as youths engaged police in running battles
Police swung into action after the youths blocked all roads leading to the town centre on Tuesday.
The protestors in their hundreds barricaded the roads using stones and lit fires during the protests.
They played hide and seek games with the contingents of antiriot officers. The officers included those from the Kenya Police Service and Prisons.
All business premises were shut down as the battles between police and protestors raged over the Finance Bill 2024. The demonstrations are still ongoing.
