Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:00:03 -0800 (PST)



Folks,

At least we saw in circulation who planned this new mayhem. This is coming one month after the dispute, at least the rest of the country acted immediately Kibaki stole the elections.

But one month later, it has been planned. And we are happy that we now have the names as well.

Kenyans must unite against this new clique who are hell bent on formenting trouble between the kikuyu and Kenyans.

The Kikuyus must lead the way in this new front.

Kibaki, his cohorts, the police, the GSU and the Army will not win this against the people. The voice of the people is the voice of God.

I am least surprised that John Njue sits in this counsel of the dishonest.

     - Oto

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Ed wrote:


Tribal riots : Tribal gangs have formed to taunt and pursue rival tribe members

Police are struggling to restore order in western Kenya, amid a recent wave of violence linked to disputed elections. Riots were continuing in the towns of Naivasha and Nakuru in the Rift Valley, where dozens of people have been killed in five days of ethnic violence. In some cases, a few police officers are trying to keep gangs of hundreds apart by firing bullets into the air.

Amid the political impasse a cycle of violence is emerging, warn analysts, of attacks followed by reprisal attacks. The national death toll since December's polls is now about 800.

Members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe have been fighting with Luos and Kalenjins who backed his rival Raila Odinga in the election a month ago. Map showing distribution of main ethnic groups in Kenya Mr Odinga accuses Mr Kibaki of stealing the vote and has refused to recognise the result.

Reprisals

Much of the weekend's violence centred on Nakuru, Kenya's fourth largest city, and Naivasha, some 60km (37 miles) south.

EYEWITNESS

"But before they got out of the house, they met a crowd waiting for them"
Antony, 35 Teacher, Naivasha

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The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says Naivasha, which witnessed brutal scenes on Sunday, is once again a battleground between rival ethnic communities. Here, many of the attacks are said to have been carried out by Kikuyu clan members in retaliation for earlier attacks.

In one of Sunday's worst incidents, 19 Luo people were burned to death in a house they sought refuge in, after being chased through a slum by a gang of Kikuyus, police said.

Fourteen people were killed overnight.

On Monday, there were tense stand-offs in the town between the rival gangs. Outside the Lake Naivasha Country Club hundreds of men from Kikuyu and Luo sides are being kept apart by only a handful of police officers, who are firing live rounds into the air.

'Go home'

"We want these Luos to go home," a Kikuyu protester holding a plank of wood told a Reuters reporter in Naivasha.

"They chased and killed our people. Now we want the same thing to happen to them."
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Earlier there were riots in the western opposition stronghold of Kisumu, as Luos demonstrated against the violence in Nakuru and Naivasha. Two people were reported killed, but calm has now reportedly been restored.

There has also been violence and houses have been burned in Kakamega in western Kenya and Eldoret in the Rift Valley.

Police say they have arrested 159 people in Naivasha and Nakuru over the past hours, and a further 95 people in Nairobi.

Separately, two Germans were hacked to death with machetes at a resort south of Mombasa, in an incident involving a robbery and apparently unconnected with the ethnic violence.

Political deadlock

There is mounting international concern at the spiralling violence. On Monday, European Union foreign ministers urged Kenya's politicians to work to find a solution or risk a cut in EU aid.

While President Kibaki says he is open to talks, he has refused to countenance Mr Odinga's demand for fresh elections.

The former UN secretary general Kofi Annan has been trying to mediate a solution between the two sides. After meeting Mr Odinga on Sunday, he was due to meet Mr Kibaki again on Monday.

But the UK's visiting minister for Africa, Mark Malloch-Brown, who met key players in meetings on Monday, said the challenge was great. "Negotiations are becoming more and more difficult because the level of anger at the two sides is just growing exponentially," he told reporters, according to AP. "The two sides are very far apart at this time."