CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Two Kenya protesters die from gunshot wounds, hospital director says

Authorities have ramped up police deployments in Nairobi since youth-led protests in June 2024 that initially focused on tax hikes but expanded to cover issues such as graft, police brutality and unexplained disappearances of government critics.

Two Kenyan protesters died from gunshot wounds at Eagle Nursing Home in a Nairobi suburb on Monday, the hospital's director Aron Sikuku told Reuters, after scattered anti-government demonstrations broke out across the country.

Earlier in the day, police opened fire to disperse a crowd of advancing protesters in the suburb of Kangemi, according to a Reuters reporter on the scene, as demonstrators sought to mark the 35th anniversary of pro-democracy rallies. One man was subsequently seen lying motionless on the road with a bloody wound in the latest demonstrations to hit Kenya since the death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody last month gave fresh impetus to public unrest.

Police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the two deaths. Authorities have ramped up police deployments in Nairobi since youth-led protests in June 2024 that initially focused on tax hikes but expanded to cover issues such as graft, police brutality and unexplained disappearances of government critics.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)