The Kenyan anti-government protests have reverberated across the world with top leaders, policy makers, government heads and inter-governmental bodies weighing in on the matter.
In Ghana, for instance, a Member of Parliament stood to make a point at the Ghanaian parliament, urging his colleagues to tread carefully lest they find themselves in the same rough waters their Kenyan counterparts experienced on June 25.
While addressing the country’s deputy minister for Information, the member of parliament urged his colleague to comment on the Kenyan protests which saw angered protesters storm Parliament, plunging MPs into panic.
“He should have taken the opportunity to brief the House on what he saw in Kenya. The Kenyan public are beating up Members of Parliament for passing bad laws. Mr Speaker, it is a serious matter. I saw colleagues Members of Parliament beaten to a pulp,” he said.
Amid what appears to be murmurs and interjections from the House speaker, the MP pushed on, urging his colleagues to take the matter seriously as it was not something to be laughed about.
“Mr Speaker, advise us on how to pass good laws to avoid being beaten by the public. We should be worried. It is not a laughing matter. It is not a joke,” he reiterated.
The MP further emphasized the need for Ghanaian legislators to prioritize public opinion and enact fair laws to prevent the kind of backlash experienced in Kenya.
Even after the Speaker told him that the point was a ‘sideline issue’, he pressed on, saying, “It’s serious. I saw one running and the police ushering him through a tunnel to escape.”
In June 25, thousands of protesters breached Parliament security, pouring into the legislative house, causing massive havoc, vandalising critical material, wiping the cafeteria clean and even brazenly occupying parliamentary seats.
