81 killed in Kenya as Annan slams abuses
Kofi Annan said he had witnessed “gross and systematic human
rights abuses” on a visit to western Kenya, where some 81 people
were killed in the flashpoint Rift Valley province.
Police said yesterday 45 died in ethnic clashes in the
provincial capital of Nakuru, bringing the death toll since
Thursday to 81.
Other bodies had been recovered on the outskirts of the nearby
town of Molo.
The former UN chief slammed “systematic” rights abuses after a
visit to the chaotic west of the country, on the fifth day of his
trip to mediate the crisis sparked by disputed presidential polls
one month ago.
“We saw gross and systematic human rights abuses of fellow
citizens,” Annan said in Nairobi after returning from the Rift
Valley which, along with the capital’s slums, has seen some of the
worst incidents of Kenya’s post-election violence.
“Impunity cannot be allowed to stand,” Annan added.
Former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa and Graca Machel, wife
of former South African president Nelson Mandela accompanied
Annan.
They are part of the latest international effort to mediate the
crisis sparked by the widely contested re-election of President
Mwai Kibaki, who opposition leader Raila Odinga claims robbed him
of rightful victory.
Around 800 people have been killed and some 260,000 others
displaced across the country since the disputed poll on December 27
touched off a wave of deadly rioting and ethnic killings.
Gunshots rang out from Nakuru’s southern slums yesterday, and
police fired bullets into the air and tear gas to disperse hundreds
of machete-wielding youths who had erected barriers along highways
into the town.
Mobs of Kikuyus, the ethnic group of Kibaki, gathered in Nakuru
on Friday to avenge attacks by other tribes, including the Kalenjin
and the Luo group of Odinga, provoking authorities to impose an
overnight curfew.
“Some houses are being burnt and fresh violence (has erupted) in
some sections of Nakuru,” said Anthony Mwangi, spokesman for the
Kenya Red Cross.
The general hospital said 162 victims of violence had been
treated since the start of the clashes on Thursday.
“Our hospital staff and amenities are now overstretched as our
surgical ward only has a capacity of 36 patients but we are
currently attending to over 90,” said medical superintendent George
Mugenya.
Annan, Mkapa and Machel toured camps of displaced people in
western Kenya who had fled fighting between supporters of Kibaki
and Odinga in an area tense with latent land and ethnic
disputes.
“What we saw was rather tragic,” Annan said.
“I hope there is a serious investigation to establish facts and
that those responsible will be punished,” he added, calling on the
government to boost security in the region.
Annan said he and the two other mediators would not stay in
Kenya “for months on end” and called on the feuding political
leaders to work with them “as expeditiously as possible”.
“But even if we are not here, the mechanism we set up will allow
the work to go on, will allow the negotiations to go on,” he added,
without elaborating.
Annan also called for a national compensation fund to be set up
for victims of post-election violence, a statement from the
president’s office said later after the ex-UN chief met with
Kibaki.
“Mr Annan appealed to politicians from all parties to visit the
affected areas and camps of the displaced persons in order to see
for themselves the damage which can be caused by reckless
statements,” it added.
International mediators have so far failed to make headway in
the crisis, which has shattered the stable image and economy of the
east African nation.
Annan on Thursday orchestrated a symbolic first meeting between
Kibaki and Odinga, who shook hands, called for peace and hinted at
a willingness to talk.
The gesture, hailed internationally, was later undermined by
further squabbling, with both sides maintaining their hardline
positions.
AFP
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Monday, January 28th, 2008 at 12:15 am under