Kenyan MPs 'must be protected'

2008-02-01 18:02

Nairobi - Kenyan newspapers on Friday urged the government to offer protection to newly-elected members of parliament after two opposition parliamentarians were killed in the space of three days.

The calls came in the wake of continuing unrest after disputed presidential elections on December 27 touched off clashes in which almost 1 000 people had died. Parliamentary elections also took place on the same day.

Thursday's killing of a 40-year-old MP in the flashpoint town of Eldoret was described by police as a crime of passion, but the opposition party of Raila Odinga - who claimed he was robbed of the presidency - called it a political assassination.

Both killings sparked fresh rioting, mainly in opposition strongholds in western Kenya.

"We will not tire to tell the government that the security of MPs, and indeed all Kenyans, must get more attention than it is doing now," the Standard newspaper said in an editorial.

MPs 'vulnerable'

The mass circulation Daily Nation said that MPs were now vulnerable.

"More than ever before, the government must provide adequate security to MPs. There is evidence that they have become vulnerable and easy targets for gun attackers. So they must be properly protected," the Nation said.

"A country cannot afford to lose its leaders in such a quick succession," it added.

Former United Nations chief Kofi Annan resumed talks aimed at ending Kenya's political crisis in Nairobi on Friday, a day after postponing them in reaction to the MPs' death.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also arrived in Kenya to join mediation efforts. Up to 300 000 people had been displaced since Kibaki's re-election touched off waves of rioting and tribal killings.

- AFP