Nairobi: President Mwai Kibaki's government accused rival Raila Odinga's party of unleashing "genocide" in Kenya yesterday as the death toll from tribal violence over a disputed election crossed 300.
"It is becoming clear that these well-organised acts of genocide and ethnic-cleansing were well-planned, financed and rehearsed by Orange Democratic Movement [ODM] leaders prior to the general elections," the statement read by Lands Minister Kivutha Kibwana on behalf of his colleagues said.
ODM had no immediate reaction to the accusation. Odinga's supporters, drawn mainly from his Luo tribe, have blamed the violence on Kibaki for "stealing" the December 27 presidential vote. Many clashes have pitted the Luo against Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe.
In an apparent olive branch to ODM, Kibaki invited all members of the new opposition-dominated parliament to a meeting at State House in Nairobi yesterday. It was not immediately clear how many opposition legislators would attend.
The use of the word genocide will horrify Kenyans, used to being viewed by the world as a stable democracy, investment and tourist destination and oasis of peace in an otherwise volatile region scarred by like the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Kenya is an important ally of the West in its counter-terrorism efforts, takes growing money-flows from China, and is used to being the peacemaker - rather than the conflict focus - in African hot-spots like Somalia and Sudan.
Since independence from Britain in 1963, the president's Kikuyu tribe has dominated political and business life in what is now East Africa's biggest and fastest-growing economy.
Western powers have called for calm and urged international institutions like the African Union and Commonwealth to try to reconcile Kibaki and Odinga. Both parties accuse the other of vote-rigging and Odinga plans a mass rally today.
"There are independent reports of serious irregularities in the counting process," said British Foreign Minister David Miliband and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a joint statement. They called for an end to violence and "an intensive political and legal process" to end the crisis.
As young men armed with machetes manned roadblocks in rural areas, a trickle of office workers in the capital Nairobi made it through police cordons to begin the new working year. "They call this democracy," said a central bank worker, delayed by police as he tried to get to work.
A local and an international rights group gave a death-toll of "more than 300" and accused Kenyan security forces of having "bloodily repressed" protests by opposition supporters.
"As a reaction, some protesters are responsible for the assassination of Kikuyus," added the Kenya Human Rights Commission and the International Federation for Human Rights.
Assurance: Currency takes a beating
Kenyan Finance Minister Amos Kimunya said yesterday the shilling currency was "within control" following a disputed presidential election that sparked ethnic clashes and threatens to drive away foreign investment.
"[The central bank] has not raised any alarm. [The shilling] is within control," Kimunya said, urging foreign investors to remain engaged in east Africa's biggest economy.
But, the political turmoil sent the shilling to a 6-week low of 66.60/66.90 to the dollar in thin offshore trade.
One trader in London said the shilling had traded at 67.25 and 67.50 per dollar.
