|
Kenya's ethnic killings spiral out
of contol - Around 900 people have died
January 28, 2008
David Byers
Dozens of people have been burnt and hacked to death within a
matter of hours in Kenya, as militias ignored pleas by
international mediators for a ceasefire and post-election ethnic
violence spiralled out of control.
With the death toll for last night alone coming to at least 13 -
and with around 150 killed in the last four days - details of some
of the weekend's worst atrocities began to emerge today.
In one incident, at least 19 members of the Luos tribe, supporters
of the Opposition leader Raila Odinga, were burnt to death after
members of the Kikuyu tribe, supporting President Mwai Kibaki,
chased them into a slum and set it on fire.
Other members of the Luos tribe who escaped being set on fire were
reported to have been hacked to death. Police reportedly did not
intervene.
The incident took place in Naivasha, a normally quiet market town
55 miles north west of Nairobi in the Kenyan Rift Valley, and was
condemned as "murderous and evil" by Mr Odinga.
Within hours, anti-Government mobs were involved in high-profile
clashes with Kikuyu tribe members, with mobs wielding clubs
confronting their opponents in apparent moves to take revenge.
In a statement made yesterday following a Nairobi meeting with
Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General, Mr Odinga appeared to
fan the flames of the conflict by implicating police in the
killings.
"I condemn this murderous and evil act in the strongest terms
possible," he said. "What is now emerging is that criminal gangs,
on a killing spree, are working under police protection.
In the western city of Kisumu today, one man was killed by a stray
bullet when security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrating
crowds.
Meanwhile, in the town of Nakuru, clashes were seen to take place
between gangs armed with machetes, metal bars and bows and arrows.
One Nakuru resident, Cosmas Makori, 22, whose house was burnt down
by rioters yesterday, accused the police of standing by as
violence raged, saying: "The police came here and ordered us to
surrender our arms, but are not doing anything to protect us. At
the moment we are still insecure."
Police said that they detained 155 overnight in Naivasha and
Nakuru, as officers attempted to restore order.
"They are being probed over arson and murder," police commissioner
Major General Mohamed Hussein Ali told a news conference today.
"We have enhanced deployment all over the places affected by the
violence. The skirmishes appear to be ethnic. Communities are
avenging each other but we are in control."
Violence erupted across Kenya after the country's December 27
presidential elections, with political protests giving way to
tit-for-tat killings over long-running feuds between rival
communities.
Supporters of Mr Odinga claim that President Kibaki's victory in
the elections was largely due to vote-rigging. Around 900 people
have died since post-election riots started, in what analysts say
is the worst crisis since a failed 1982 coup.
Meanwhile, in an incident apparently unrelated to the ethnic
rioting, a German tourist and a businessman were battered to death
by a gang of robbers who trailed them to their apartment at a
southeastern Kenyan beach resort, it was announced today.
Police said that there was a long struggle last night between the
men and the robbers, who had overpowered the security guard at the
Diana beach resort.
The two men were not identified, although it was confirmed that
one was a resident German businessman and the other a German
visitor.
|
