Kibaki invites Odinga for talks
2008-01-08 07:53
Nairobi - Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has invited opposition leader Raila Odinga for their first face-to-face talks since the country's disputed presidential poll, a move backed by the United States President George W Bush as mediation efforts accelerated.
Odinga earlier called off countrywide protests set for Tuesday, as the death toll from a week of clashes over the disputed December 27 election surged to at least 600.
As diplomatic efforts intensified to calm the conflict, the chairperson of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, was due to arrive in Kenya on Wednesday. He was expected to push for a compromise between Kibaki and Odinga.
President Bush on Monday urged Kenya's government and opposition to hold "good faith" talks and urged an end to violence while leaders seek "a lasting political solution."
Lasting political solution
Bush said: "I condemn the use of violence as a political tool and appeal to both sides to engage in peaceful dialogue aimed at finding a lasting political solution.
"I now urge both sides to enter this dialogue in good faith to earn back the trust of the Kenyan people, who deserve a political process that reflects their dedication to democracy."
A spokesperson for Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, Ahmed Hashi, said late on Monday that they had not yet received a formal invitation from Kibaki to Friday's talks.
Odinga said: "In the light of the development, we are assured that mediation effort has started."
But Odinga said earlier he was ready to start a dialogue with Kibaki about options including power sharing and re-elections after meeting with the top US Africa envoy, Jendayi Frazer.
Frazer said the Kenyan people had "been cheated by their political leadership and their institutions".
'Some bodies still in bushes'
She added: "We the US hope they (Kibaki and Odinga) will do more than accommodatimg each other... it should be aimed at ending the violence in the country.
"The only way to restore the Kenyan people's rights and confidence in the system is that the political leaders have to stop the violence, because innocent people are dying."
Police said the toll from clashes triggered by Kibaki's contested victory had risen dramatically. "We have at least 600 dead ... some bodies are still in the bushes where fighting occurred," a top police official said.
Liberata Mulamula, the head of the United Nations-backed International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, said many of the deaths resembled a genocide-style campaign.
He warned: "Refugees, internal displacement, hate campaigns and threats of genocide are returning to the region."
According to the UN, some 255 000 people had been displaced since the elections, but Frazer firmly rejected Mulamula's "genocide" label.
She said: "Even the worst of what has happened cannot be considered a genocide."