Kenya's disputed election & clashes update

[genmirajborgza786]

Kenya diplomatic push for peace
Riot police are on patrol after fresh clashes in Nairobi's slums
Tension on the streets
Both sides in Kenya's disputed election have accused the other of violence as diplomatic efforts to defuse the country's political crisis intensify.
The US and UK are calling for opponents to work together and an African Union delegation, led by Ghana's President John Kufuor, is due in Kenya for talks.
About 300 people have now died in the post-poll bloodshed, including 35 burned to death sheltering in a church.
Many Kenyans have been forced to take refuge from armed mobs and looters.
Police in the capital Nairobi have set up barricades at the major roundabouts into the city and halted traffic.
As commuters cautiously start the working year, there are fears of renewed violence if a rally planned by the political opposition for Thursday goes ahead.
Call for compromise
Tens of thousands of people have already fled their homes amid the unrest.
I refuse to be asked to give the Kenyan people an anaesthetic so that they can be raped
Raila Odinga
Opposition leader
Mwai Kibaki, who was officially re-elected president in Thursday's vote, and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who says he was robbed of victory by fraud, traded accusations while calling for an end to the killing.

A government spokesman told the BBC Mr Odinga's supporters were "engaging in ethnic cleansing", while Mr Odinga said Mr Kibaki's camp was "guilty, directly, of genocide".

Asked if he would urge his supporters to calm down, Mr Odinga told the BBC: "I refuse to be asked to give the Kenyan people an anaesthetic so that they can be raped."

The African Union chairman, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, is due to visit the former British colony.
UK Foreign Minister David Miliband and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have issued a joint statement urging both sides to "engage in a spirit of compromise".

BBC world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says that what the US and UK mean by that phrase is there should be a government of national unity.

The message of the African Union chairman, whose visit is fully backed by Britain and the US, is expected to be the same, according to our correspondent.

The joint US-UK statement noted reports of "serious irregularities" in the vote count but urged Kenya's political leaders to unite in calling for an end to the bloodshed.

Poll watchdog 'pressured'

There were reports of several more deaths overnight, with two police officers killed in the western town of Kericho by youths armed with bows and arrows, a police official told AFP news agency.

But the country has been shocked by the deaths of dozens of people - mainly Kikuyu, the same tribe as Mr Kibaki - in a church that was torched in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.

The BBC's Karen Allen has just returned from the church, which had been sheltering mostly women and children, and described a scene of utter devastation.
She saw two bodies outside the charred building, one a man who appeared to have been hacked to death with a machete and the burned remains of a woman.
Our correspondent says at least 500 terrified local people have taken refuge in a police station in Eldoret.

The Kenyan Red Cross has said at least 70,000 people have been displaced by the unrest in the Rift Valley.

Correspondents say the disorder is already starting to affect other parts of East Africa, to which Kenya is a gateway.

As the most industrialised country in the region, many of Kenya's neighbours depend on it for essential imports like cooking oil, salt and flour.

Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Congo, which all get their fuel from a refinery in Eldoret, are starting to see prices at the pump soar as their supplies run out.

The Ugandan Red Cross says nearly 700 refugees have arrived in the eastern province of Busia after fleeing Kenya's violence.

Mr Kibaki was declared the winner on Sunday after a controversial three-day counting process.

On Tuesday, election commission chairman Samuel Kivuitu said he had been under pressure to make the election results public from Mr Kibaki's Party of National Unity and a minor opposition party that recently split from Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement.

EU observers said the poll "fell short of international standards" but the government has denied fraud.
BBC NEWS | Africa | Kenya diplomatic push for peace

Published: 2008/01/02 16:06:30 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Nairobi braced for banned rally
The Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has said he will hold a rally in the capital, Nairobi, despite a police ban.
Security forces have surrounded the park where the rally is due to be held.
Refusing to accept defeat to Mwai Kibaki in the 27 December presidential election, Mr Odinga's party boycotted crisis talks with the new president.
More than 300 people have been killed and at least 70,000 driven from their homes across Kenya since Sunday.
Both sides have hardened their positions ahead of the planned mass rally on Thursday morning in Uhuru Park, the BBC's Grant Ferrett reports from Nairobi.
[Africans] can no longer be comprehensively fooled or dictated to
Mark Doyle
BBC world affairs correspondent
And hopes of outside mediation are fading with news that a visit by African Union leader John Kufuor to Nairobi is unlikely to happen, our correspondent adds.
Mr Odinga said the rally would send a peaceful message to supporters opposition.
Salim Lone, his campaign manager, told the BBC that his party was not courting trouble.
"The eyes of the world are on us for this rally, because everywhere Mr Odinga goes, he is asked are you going to allow this rally to happen," he said.
But Vice-President Moody Awori urged Mr Odinga to accept defeat and call off the protest.
"Please do not risk the lives of Kenyans, encouraging a large crowd of people coming in Nairobi on a working day," he said, speaking to reporters.
Riot police blocked opposition supporters trying to break out of slum areas to reach the city centre earlier in the week.
'Genocide'
Supporters of Mr Odinga and President Kibaki have accused each other of genocide.
Mr Kibaki had invited all newly elected members of parliament to an urgent meeting at state house.
But instead of attending, Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement MPs held a news conference to again urge Mr Kibaki to leave office.
MASS RALLY PLANS
Raila Odinga has called for a 1m-strong march in Nairobi
Marchers aim to rally in Uhuru (Freedom) Park, focus of pro-democracy protests in 1990s
The government is banning all public rallies in the immediate aftermath of the election
"How could we attend?" ODM secretary general Anyang Nyongo was quoted by AFP news agency as saying. "He is not a president but a usurper. It is genocide because police are killing people."
Mr Odinga himself said there could be no "dialogue with a thief", referring to the alleged vote-rigging which returned Mr Kibaki to office.
Speaking on behalf of the government, Lands Minister Kivutha Kibwana accused the ODM of planning, funding and rehearsing "genocide and ethnic cleansing" before the election.
The mutual accusation of genocide is a dangerous escalation of the rhetoric at a time of heightened tension, our correspondent notes.
'Two patriots'
Mr Kufuor, president of Ghana, had been expected to arrive on Thursday but a senior Kenyan government minister said on Wednesday the visit would not take place.
Finance Minister Amos Kimunya told the BBC the visit was not going ahead because there was no need for international mediation in a "Kenyan situation".
Human life is more important than leadership
Musyoka, Nairobi
BBC News website reader
The comments are contrary to statements from Mr Kufuor's office that Mr Kibaki has invited him to Kenya.
Michael Ranneberger, the US ambassador, told the BBC World Service that Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga had to work together to bring peace to Kenya, even if the election result was still being contested.
"This is a time when two of the greatest Kenyan patriots - the president and Raila Odinga - need to step forward and work out a practical way forward in the interests of the Kenyan people," he said.
Samuel Kivuitu, head of Kenya's election commission, told the BBC's Network Africa programme that he could not say for sure if Mr Kibaki had won fairly until he was shown the original records.
"I don't know until I see the records - the original records - which I can't see unless the court authorises it - if we can get authority from law allowing us to check whether these figures are correct, we'll do so," he said.
The full devastation and horror of this week's unrest emerged on Wednesday as journalists visited the charred slums of Nairobi and areas of western Kenya which saw tribal violence.
Fear in the night
The BBC's Karen Allen walked through the smouldering embers of the wooden church on the outskirts of Eldoret, in the Rift Valley, where some 30 people were burnt alive.
The people sheltering there were members of President Kibaki's own community but other groups were also targeted.
Political rivalries have exposed ethnic tensions these past few days and communities that once lived side by side now torn apart, our correspondent says.
Patrick Nongyez of the local Red Cross said he had never seen anything like the church attack in Kenya.
As dusk fell, hundreds of people were preparing to sleep at the main police station for security.
Chemu Mungo, an Eldoret student, told BBC Radio 5 Live that people in the town felt the only safe place to go now was the bush.
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Africa | Nairobi braced for banned rally

Published: 2008/01/03 04:15:55 GMT
© BBC MMVIII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

What next for Kenya?
International concern is growing over the violence that's hit Kenya after the re-election of President Mwai Kibaki. Send us your views.
The defeated opposition leader Raila Odinga called for a million people to gather in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park today.
Kenyan police fired tear gas and used a water cannon to disperse protesters who were trying to attend the banned rally.
Clashes between supporters of President Kibaki and Mr Odinga have claimed more than 300 lives and displaced 70000 from their homes.
Samuel Kivuitu, head of Kenya’s election commission has told the BBC he could not say for sure if Mr Kibaki had won fairly until he was shown the original records.
Are you in Kenya? What is the situation like where you live? Did you try to join the opposition rally? Let us know what is happening near you. Read the main story Read previous comments on this topic
Published: Sunday, 30 December, 2007, 10:50 GMT 10:50 UK
BBC NEWS | Have Your Say | What next for Kenya?

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Q&A: Kenya poll violence
More than 300 people have been killed in violent clashes across Kenya, following disputed presidential elections.
Kenya's Electoral Commission declared President Mwai Kibaki the winner on Sunday.
But EU observers have said the presidential poll was flawed. Voter turnout in one area was recorded as 115%.
What's behind the violence?
The immediate trigger has been the disputed election results - supporters of Mr Kibaki's main challenger, Raila Odinga, believe he was cheated of victory.
But ethnic tension, which has dogged Kenyan politics since independence in 1963, is widely believed to be behind much of the violence.
With patronage and corruption still common, many Kenyans believe that if one of their relatives is in power, they will benefit directly, for example through a relative getting a civil service job.
The current tensions can be traced back to the 1990s, when the then President Daniel arap Moi was forced to introduce multi-party politics.
Members of Mr Moi's Kalenjin ethnic group - the dominant group in the Rift Valley Province - felt threatened by the move.
Since then the Kalenjins have fought for a federalist system with more autonomy and have supported Mr Odinga to this end in the run-up to the 2007 polls.
Mr Odinga, from the Luo community, has a fairly wide support base ethnically and has portrayed himself as challenging Kenya's political establishment. He promised during his campaign to address the extreme income inequalities in the country.
President Kibaki, who in 2002 ended the more than two-decade rule of Mr Moi's Kanu party in widely praised polls, has promised economic devolution.
Under his presidency the economy has been growing steadily, but most Kenyans have not yet felt the benefits of this.
In the overcrowded slums around Nairobi, residents have to cope with violent gangs, no sewers (people use plastic bags as toilets and throw them out of the window) and intermittent electricity.
Mr Kibaki depends heavily on the votes of Kikuyus, the largest ethnic group in the country, but also has support from smaller communities.
Who's involved in the violence?
Mainly people loyal to Mr Odinga, from various ethnic groups, attacking Kikuyus whom they see as Mr Kibaki's supporters.
KENYA'S ETHINC GROUPS
Population: 34m, comprising more than 40 ethnic groups
Kikuyu: 22%
Luhya: 14%
Luo: 13%
Kalenjin: 12%
Kamba: 11%
In Kisumu in the west, an ODM heartland, and Mombasa on the coast, the violence has been spontaneous and involved looting.
But in the Rift Valley Province - which has witnessed most of the bloodshed, including 30 burned to death while sheltering in a church - there is reported to be a more orchestrated element.
Eyewitnesses in Molo have reported seeing truckloads of Kalenjin gangs, armed with bows and arrows and some with guns, arriving in Kikuyu areas to torch houses.
Most Kenyans have been shocked by the violence and many in the capital, Nairobi, do not want Thursday's ODM rally to go ahead.
They would prefer dialogue as rallies are notorious for violence.
So what are the politicians doing?
President Kibaki appears to have opened the way for a political dialogue by calling all newly elected MPs to a meeting to discuss the situation.
The ODM has a majority in parliament, but not the two-thirds required for a vote of no confidence in the government.
Mr Kibaki insists the rule of law must be followed and any election discrepancies should be fought through the courts.
But Mr Odinga says this will take too long, as petitions filed about results from the 2002 elections have yet to be dealt with.
Kalonzo Musyoka, who came third in the presidential poll, has met Mr Kibaki and called for peace.
His coalition ODM-Kenya is expected to join Mr Kibaki in government.
What about international diplomatic efforts?
International pressure was crucial to getting former President Moi to step down before the last election.
This time around, the UK and EU have criticised the conduct of the poll but the US has been less forceful, perhaps because the Kenyan government has occasionally helped the US in its fight against Islamists in neighbouring Somalia.
International pressure on Kenya would work only if the major world powers were united and determined to take action.
In any case, the comments of concern from the US and UK are unlikely to be viewed kindly by the Kenyan government, which perceives these countries as being pro-ODM.
African diplomats may have more influence.
Representing the Commonwealth, former Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah met Mr Kibaki, and the two men also called for calm.
The head of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, is expected to hold separate talks with Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga.
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Africa | Q&A: Kenya poll violence
Published: 2008/01/02 14:18:52 GMT
© BBC MMVIII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

All UK holidays to Kenya on hold
All of the UK's major tour operators have suspended holidays to Kenya for the next two days, the Federation of Tour Operators has said.
Operators began cancelling flights following Foreign Office advice that people should only take essential journeys to the East African country.
More than 300 people have been killed in Kenya and at least 70,000 driven from their homes since Sunday.
The crisis flared after claims of vote rigging in the presidential election.
The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) is also assessing the need to make alternative travel arrangements for 7,000 Britons who are already on holiday in Kenya.
The Foreign Office has advised people to avoid all but essential travel to certain parts of Kenya following violence that erupted on 27 December.
But on Wednesday night this advice was extended to the entire country.
Were you planning to fly to Kenya? Have you suspended your plans? Are you there on holiday? Send us your experiences using the form below.
Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | UK | All UK holidays to Kenya on hold

Published: 2008/01/03 11:42:03 GMT

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I was listening to the BBC transmission on the situation in Kenya, and the parallels with Pakistan are eerie - the opposition screaming "rigged rigged" before the elections, even though their demands on electoral reform have been accepted (though Mega Computers are unstoppable I suppose). The events at the end of the electoral process in Kenya are what led to the instability and accusations of vote rigging though, and I hope that the PEC is able to avoid that sort of murky atmosphere.

 

[mujahideen]

Well I just hope that Pakistani elections dont produce these kinds of results.

 

[Sino-PakFriendship]

Kenya, Gerogia and Pakistan ~ 3 of US anti-terrorism allies have problems (conflict, demonstration and attack) in election.

 

[Logic note]

Kenya, Gerogia and Pakistan ~ 3 of US anti-terrorism allies have problems (conflict, demonstration and attack) in election.

disagreement and conflict of opinions is normal in any democratic Society . may be someday you will understand .