One killed in Kenya as protesters breach parliament

Kenyan police shoot dead protester amid violent protests against proposed tax hikes, sparking nationwide rallies and escalating tensions.

Kenyan police shot dead one protester near parliament on June 25, a rights group said, with AFP journalists seeing three people lying motionless on the ground as crowds opposed to proposed tax hikes breached barricades to enter the parliamentary complex where a fire erupted.

The rallies, led by the youth, began last week, and caught the government off guard, with President William Ruto saying over the weekend he was ready to talk to the protesters.

But tensions escalated sharply on June 25, as crowds began to throw stones at police and push back against barricades, making their way towards the parliament complex, which was sealed off by police in full riot gear.

Police fired at crowds massing outside the parliament building, where lawmakers had been debating a contentious bill featuring tax hike proposals.

"Police have shot four protesters, as witnessed by KHRC, killing one," the Kenya Human Rights Commission said in a statement on X.

Shortly before, Irungu Houghton, the executive director of Amnesty International Kenya, told AFP that “human rights observers are now reporting the increasing use of live bullets by the National Police Service in the capital of Nairobi”.

“Safe passage for medical officers to treat the many wounded is now urgent,” he said.