World

Kenyan police open fire at protest against 'abductions'

By AAP Newswire

Jul 1, 2026

Kenyan police officers — A Kenyan protester says his brother has not been seen since he was arrested ‌a week ago. -EPA

Kenyan police have opened fire ‌at a protest in Nairobi against reported abductions, killing at ‌least one person, two witnesses say.

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The protest in the Mathare neighbourhood was triggered by the reported abduction of a businessman this month and came amid mounting concern over kidnappings of critics ‌and crackdowns during ‌protests in ⁠Kenya.

Kenyan police were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.

"I have seen one person dead and two have gunshot wounds at a hospital in Mathare," said Wanjira Wanjiru, co-founder of Mathare Social Justice Centre, who was at the protest.

Adel Nduba, ⁠a resident of Mathare, ‌said the protest was called because his brother had not been seen since he was arrested ‌a week ago.

Two years ago, at least 60 people were killed in a crackdown by security forces according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights after protesters breached parliament grounds during a rally against proposed tax hikes.

Kenya's President ‌William Ruto has acknowledged "instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions by members of the security services".

He said earlier this month that 2 billion Kenyan shillings ($A22.6 million) had been set aside for victims of protest-related abuses.