Kenyan police open fire at protest against reported abductions, witnesses say


NAIROBI, June 30 (Reuters) - Kenyan ⁠police opened fire at a protest in ⁠Nairobi against reported abductions on Tuesday, killing at least ‌one person, two witnesses told Reuters.

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 ($15.5 million) had been set aside for ​victims of protest-related abuses.

($1 = 129.3500 Kenyan ‌shillings)

(Reporting by Edwin Okoth and ​Monicah Mwangi; Writing by George Obulutsa and Ammu Kannampilly; Editing by Alexander Winning and David Lewis)

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