Kibaki 'prepared' for dialogue
2008-01-03 22:24
Nairobi - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, in the wake of his controversial re-election, on Thursday indicated he would enter into talks with the opposition as police prevented a planned opposition rally.
He was "prepared for political dialogue once the situation in the country is calm," Kibaki told journalists. At the same time, he announced a clampdown on "criminal violence."
The 76-year old was on Sunday declared the winner of the presidential vote by the country's electoral commission, with 230 000 votes more than opposition candidate Raila Odinga.
Odinga, 62, has charged that the polls, which he lost by 230&nbp;000 votes, were flawed and has demanded Kibaki step down.
Earlier, Kenyan opposition politicians called off what was called a "million-man" rally on Thursday to protest the polls which have sparked mass rioting and violence that continued as supporters tried to reach the gathering.
As disgruntled Kenyans fought police and condemned the so-called flawed poll results that brought President Mwai Kibaki back to power, the country's Attorney General Amos Wako called for a vote recount.
"A proper tally of the valid certificates returned and confirmed should be undertaken immediately on a priority basis by an agreed and independent person or body," Wako said in a statement read on television, echoing the European Union and other leaders.
Heavily-guarded downtown park
Kenyans smashed car windows and burned tyres on main highways as they attempted to make their way to a heavily-guarded downtown park where defeated presidential candidate Odinga was set to greet his supporters.
Paramilitary police were deployed to most areas of the capital, lining the perimeter of the park where Odinga's supporters were set to gather. Cabbage, mangoes and broken soda bottles were strewn along streets, acting as a barricade to police attempting to push back the crowd.
A spokesperson from Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) said the rally had been moved to Tuesday because the safety of the supporters "could not be guaranteed."
Some of Odinga's backers were on their way downtown, but clashes with police held them back.
A group of several hundred people chanting "we want peace" reached the park but were met by police who fired teargas canisters, many of which landed near the entrance to a posh hotel.
Protestors in Kibera, East Africa's largest slum, were packed tight in the slum's narrow streets as police fired teargas and live ammunition to disperse the crowd, which continued to gather.
Near Mathare, another slum plagued by violence since elections on December 27, masses of people tried to break police lines to reach the park, but were stopped.
ODM leaders have called for international mediation to the crisis, and Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who is also the head of the African Union, is set to take the role.
Fears of more violence
President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) has been less keen on international mediation.
Odinga vowed to defy a police ban on a "million-man" rally and was set to meet his supporters to inaugurate himself as president, charging Kibaki stole the win from him.
The rally, which has been banned by the government, has raised fears of more violence as the country continues to be gripped by post-election unrest that has killed at least 300 people and marked a disturbing change in the usually peaceful country.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon meanwhile announced an attempt at negotiations. Ban was currently in contact with the Kenyan leadership to find ways out of the violence, his spokeswoman said in New York.
South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also making efforts to negotiate in the political crisis, meeting Odinga on Thursday.
The European Union Commission, meanwhile, has again called on the conflicting parties to end the escalating violence.
"Violence after elections has no place in a country," a Commission spokesperson said in Brussels. - dpa
- SAPA