- Title: KENYA: Second Kenya opposition MP killed, negotiations postponed
- Date: 31st January 2008
- Summary: (W3) NAIROBI, KENYA (JANUARY 31, 2008) (REUTERS) WIDE OF NEWS BRIEFING ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLICE COMMISSIONER, MAJOR HUSSEIN ALI, SAYING: "I am reliably informed that the two police officers, Constable Chepkowony and Andrew had an intimate relationship and therefore we are treating this initially as a crime of passion but the matter will be decided before court an
- Embargoed: 15th February 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAENMNNY744NHVJIBL37ATYHN3J
- Story Text: A police officer in Kenya shoots dead an opposition legislator, the second killed in a week, sparking fresh protests and interrupting negotiations brokered by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan.
Kenyan opposition legislator David Kimutai Too was shot dead on Thursday (January 31) in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, the second member of parliament for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) killed this week.
Leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), Raila Odinga, called the death of parliamentarian David Kimutai Too a politically-motivated "execution".
Anyang Nyongo, Secretary General of the ODM, condemned the killing.
"One of our MPs, honourable David Too, has been assassinated in Eldoret today by CID officer who cut short his life in service of the Kibaki administration. We deeply regret this incident and condemn it unreservedly," Nyongo told reporters at a news conference in Nairobi.
Kenya's police said the fatal shooting of Too was a "crime of passion" and had already led to one arrest.
Police Commissioner Major Hussein Ali told reporters that the legislator was shot along with a female police constable by another policeman, in what the police say could be a love triangle.
"I am reliably informed that the two police officers, Constable Chepkowony and Andrew had an intimate relationship and therefore we are treating this initially as a crime of passion but the matter will be decided before court and it would be wrong for us to be presumptuous at this stage of the motives and reasons," said Ali.
Earlier this week, another opposition legislator, Melitus Were, was gunned down outside the gate of his Nairobi home, in a murder that triggered rioting and ethnic killings. The ODM said Were's killing was a "political assassination", although police said they were treating it as "murder".
The killing of David Kimutai Too overshadowed the negotiations between the country's feuding politicians after more than a month of violence.
The talks, brokered by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan were postponed hours after the killing of the legislator.
''Today we have had very constructive and really accelerated talks and I am very, very pleased with the progress we are making. We are determined, all of us here, to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and bring stability and peace to this country, but first and foremost we want to see the violence end,'' Annan said after announcing that the talks were postponed.
Annan launched formal mediation between the government and ODM on Tuesday (January 29), each side represented by a team of three -- both a mix of moderates and hardliners.
Kibaki, 76, says he is the legally elected president, but is open to sharing power. Odinga, 63, says he was robbed by fraud during the vote count and wants Kibaki to stand down or allow a new election after a period of power-sharing.
Many Kenyans fear what will happen if Annan's mediation fails to strike a deal between Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga, the ODM leader who says vote-rigging stole his victory.
Political and ethnic violence has killed 850 people in Kenya since the Dec. 27 election. The instability has shocked its neighbours and Western donors, and battered Kenya's image as a stable trade and tourism hub.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union threw their weight behind the former U.N. Secretary-General's efforts and watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged African leaders to endorse an independent probe into the vote and violence.
Kenya's unrest may have been triggered by an election dispute but the tinder for ethnic conflict was there and has burned before at elections in 1992 and 1997.
The violence has taken the lid off decades-old divisions between communities over land, wealth and power dating from British colonial rule, which have been stoked by Kenyan politicians during 44 years of independence.
Members of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe were the first to be attacked, and are now seeking revenge on Luos, Luhyas and Kalenjins who largely back Odinga in what many fear will turn into tit-for-tat attacks. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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