KENYA: Kenya in crisis after disputed elections

Record ID: 361502

  • Title: KENYA: Kenya in crisis after disputed elections
  • Date: 3rd January 2008
  • Summary: (W3)NAIROBI, KENYA (JANUARY 3, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MOHAMED YUSUF HAJI, SAYING; "We condemn all acts of revenge and ethnic cleansing which we are witnessing in some parts of the country." MORE OF GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MOHAMED YUSUF HAJI SAYING; "We are therefore calling for an international inquiry into
  • Embargoed: 18th January 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACV28GMIPEY1J98PDTBI955QOF
  • Story Text: Opposition supporters clashed in deadly riots on Thursday following a planned rally that had been banned by the government. The rally was called off by opposition officials at the last minute. Kenya government ministers have condemned the flare of ethnic violence accusing ODM leaders of incitement.
    Opposition supporters hoping to attend an anti-government rally at a Nairobi park were dispersed by Kenyan police who fired teargas and shot in the air.
    About 100 riot police faced the crowd on a day when opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for a million-strong rally against President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election.
    The crowd marched from Nairobi's Kibera slum, an opposition stronghold, and one of the areas that badly hit recent post-election violence.
    But after hours of skirmishes all round the city, the opposition called off the rally against the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki, saying it wanted to save lives. But it scheduled another public meeting for next Tuesday.
    Both sides have traded accusations of genocide in the five days of violence that has shocked world leaders and choked off supplies of fuel and other goods to a swathe of central African nations.
    Meanwhile, Kenya government ministers have condemned the flare up of ethnic violence that has rocked the country.

    "We condemn all acts of revenge and ethnic cleansing which we are witnessing in some parts of the country," said Mohamed Yusuf Hajim, a Member of parliament in Kibaki's party.
    Kibaki's government has accused defeated opposition leader Raila Odinga's backers of responsibility for the explosion of tribal violence that has plunged Kenya into turmoil. Much fighting pitched Luos, who back defeated Odinga, against Kibaki's ethnic Kikuyu group.

    "We are therefore calling for an international inquiry into the abuses of human rights and incitement of ODM leaders by the international criminal court on charge of ethnic cleansing and genocide," said Hajim.
    Odinga's supporters, drawn mainly from his Luo tribe, have made similar charges against Kibaki, whose Kikuyu have dominated political and business life in East Africa's biggest economy.
    The opposition has accused the government of acts "bordering on genocide" by ordering police to shoot protesters enraged by Kibaki's victory at the polls. International observers said the election fell short of democratic standards.
    Western powers have called for calm and Britain has urged the African Union and Commonwealth to try to reconcile Kibaki and Odinga whose partiesss accuse the other of vote-rigging during the December 27 election.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register