More killed in Kenya violence
Jan 21, 2008
Five people were hacked to death in ethnic clashes in Nairobi, police said yesterday, as mediators prepared a fresh bid to break the deadlock that followed President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election.
NAIROBI
Five people were hacked to death in ethnic clashes in Nairobi, police said yesterday, as mediators prepared a fresh bid to break the deadlock that followed President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election.
Kibaki’s rival Raila Odinga, who charges the polls were rigged, took his first walkabout in his western Kenya strongholds since last month’s polls and was greeted to chants of “Welcome mister presidentâ€.
Meanwhile, Kenyan summoned British High Commissioner Adam Wood over comments made last week in London in which a member of the government said London did not recognise Kibaki’s government.
“Our elections do not need a stamp of authority from the House of Commons,†Kenyan foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula told reporters.
Kenya has come under mounting criticism over the December 27 polls and over its heavy-handed crackdown against opposition supporters who attempted to stage protests last week across the country.
Demonstrations have morphed into tribal clashes, taking place mainly in Nairobi’s crowded slums — ethnic tinderboxes where most of Kenya’s 42 tribes co-exist — and in villages already beset by feuds over land and resources.
Overnight clashes left two dead in Huruma, one in Babadogo and two in Mathare, where police commander Paul Ruto said 12 people had been arrested following the violence.
Several houses were razed as hundreds stampeded out of shanty towns that have been divided into tribal blocs.
Riot police continued to patrol major towns as well as the volatile rural areas across the country, while opposition supporters remained in defiant mood.
“The struggle is still on until justice prevails,†Odinga said in the town of Kakamega.
“I won the election, but I was rigged out,†Odinga said, during the brief visit, which took him to see victims of the violence at local hospitals and displaced people sheltered in a Methodist church.
Later in Kisumu, a key opposition bastion and the country’s third city, Odinga was given a hero’s welcome as hundreds of his supporters greeted him at the local airport.
His Orange Democratic Movement party over the weekend called for a fresh round of demonstrations on Thursday, but police have vowed to block them.
Odinga said on Sunday that he was open to dialogue as former UN chief Kofi Annan was set to arrive in Kenya Tuesday to push for a settlement between the feuding sides.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was expected in Nairobi today to support dialogue.
Five people were hacked to death in ethnic clashes in Nairobi, police said yesterday, as mediators prepared a fresh bid to break the deadlock that followed President Mwai Kibaki’s re-election.
Kibaki’s rival Raila Odinga, who charges the polls were rigged, took his first walkabout in his western Kenya strongholds since last month’s polls and was greeted to chants of “Welcome mister presidentâ€.
Meanwhile, Kenyan summoned British High Commissioner Adam Wood over comments made last week in London in which a member of the government said London did not recognise Kibaki’s government.
“Our elections do not need a stamp of authority from the House of Commons,†Kenyan foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula told reporters.
Kenya has come under mounting criticism over the December 27 polls and over its heavy-handed crackdown against opposition supporters who attempted to stage protests last week across the country.
Demonstrations have morphed into tribal clashes, taking place mainly in Nairobi’s crowded slums — ethnic tinderboxes where most of Kenya’s 42 tribes co-exist — and in villages already beset by feuds over land and resources.
Overnight clashes left two dead in Huruma, one in Babadogo and two in Mathare, where police commander Paul Ruto said 12 people had been arrested following the violence.
Several houses were razed as hundreds stampeded out of shanty towns that have been divided into tribal blocs.
Riot police continued to patrol major towns as well as the volatile rural areas across the country, while opposition supporters remained in defiant mood.
“The struggle is still on until justice prevails,†Odinga said in the town of Kakamega.
“I won the election, but I was rigged out,†Odinga said, during the brief visit, which took him to see victims of the violence at local hospitals and displaced people sheltered in a Methodist church.
Later in Kisumu, a key opposition bastion and the country’s third city, Odinga was given a hero’s welcome as hundreds of his supporters greeted him at the local airport.
His Orange Democratic Movement party over the weekend called for a fresh round of demonstrations on Thursday, but police have vowed to block them.
Odinga said on Sunday that he was open to dialogue as former UN chief Kofi Annan was set to arrive in Kenya Tuesday to push for a settlement between the feuding sides.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was expected in Nairobi today to support dialogue.