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Kenya fresh violence claims 3
28/02/2008 14:49 - (SA)
Nairobi - The head of the African Union on Thursday pushed Kenya's feuding political leaders to end the political crisis there as fresh violence in the volatile Rift Valley region claimed three more lives.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who heads the AU, joined former United Nations secretary-general and chief mediator Kofi Annan for talks with the two main political players.
President Mwai Kibaki and opposition chief Raila Odinga had failed to agree on a power-sharing deal to resolve the crisis that erupted after Odinga accused Kibaki of rigging the December 27 presidential election.
Political and tribal violence since had claimed at least 1 500 lives, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes and dealt a severe blow to Kenya's economy.
Three people killed
At Annan's request, Odinga cancelled opposition rallies called for Thursday and went back into talks, but as negotiations resumed, police reported another deadly attack overnight in the western Molo district of the Rift Valley.
Three people were killed, five others wounded and more than 30 huts torched, Rift Valley police commander Joseph Ashimala said.
"They were attacked and shot with arrows when more than 100 youths raided villages and torched houses. They are admitted to Molo district hospital," he added.
Ashimala said they had boosted security in the region, which had been the scene of sporadic tribal fighting since 1992, partly because Kikukus who had tended to dominate the country's political life settled the fertile area.
Police said most of the houses torched belonged to people who had had recently returned after having been evicted from their homes in December.
Kikuyu 'largest tribe in Kenya'
A local Kikuyu, Irari Mugo, said: "The attack started about 01:00 when the Kalenjin came and started burning houses. Police were slow in responding, but when they arrived the Kalenjins had already burned them."
Although the Kikuyu were the largest of the east African country's many tribes, they were a minority in western Kenya, where people overwhelmingly backed Odinga, a Luo, who also had strong support from the Kalenjin.
Annan on Tuesday suspended talks between government and opposition representatives, citing lack of progress on the details of the prime minister's post, a key element to the political settlement.
Kibaki had said the post of prime minister and two deputies would be created under the current constitution pending a comprehensive constitutional review in 12 months.
The main issue dividing the two sides appeared to be how much power the prime minister would actually be granted in a nation that provided constitutionally for strong presidential rule.
William Ruto, a senior official with Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), accused the government of seeking to intimidate opposition supporters.
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