Dozens dead in Kenya poll clashes

Policeman in Nairobi slum of Kibera
There has also been violence in Nairobi and Mombasa

Violent protests
At least 43 people have been killed in the western Kenyan town of Kisumu after violence blamed on the disputed presidential election.

A BBC reporter saw the bodies with gunshot wounds in a mortuary in the opposition stronghold.

Witnesses say the police fired live bullets after protesters threw stones, claiming fraud in last week's poll.

President Mwai Kibaki has been declared the winner but Raila Odinga says he was robbed of victory by election fraud.

There have also been violent clashes in slums in the capital, Nairobi, the resort town of Mombasa and several other towns around the country.


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'Bodies laid out on floor'
Tension rises after polls

The AFP news agency quotes police as saying that 40 people have been killed in Nairobi.

There have been running battles in the slum of Kibera, between police firing live rounds and teargas and protesters armed with clubs and machetes.

Large numbers of paramilitary police have been put on stand-by by the government.

In other developments:

* European Union election observers have raised doubts about the officially announced results
* The government has banned live broadcasts linked to the election
* The police have banned a planned alternative inauguration ceremony to be held in central Nairobi for Mr Odinga
* The police have urged people to stay away from central Nairobi
* Mr Odinga said there was no difference between Mr Kibaki and "military dictators who have seized power through the barrel of the gun"

Those killed in Kisumu include two women and three children, reports the BBC's Noel Mwakugu.

An eye-witness told him that police fired indiscriminately even after the protesters started running away in the Kisumu suburbs of Manyatta and Nyamasira.


OFFICIAL RESULTS
Mwai Kibaki. File photo
Mwai Kibaki (pictured): 4,584,721 votes
Raila Odinga: 4,352,993
Kalonzo Musyoka: 879,903

Kibaki: Dream or nightmare?
Odinga: King-maker

Local police chief Grace Kahindi said she had no knowledge of any deaths.

A daytime curfew (0600-1800 local time, 0300-1500 GMT) has been imposed in the town.

"Police have been ordered to shoot violators," an unnamed senior police official told AFP.

There have also reports of trouble in Bungoma, Busia, Eldoret, Kericho and Kakamega.

The violence was stoked by opposition claims that the results were rigged.

Some of the violence has taken an ethnic dimension.

The Luo community are seen as pro-Odinga, while the Kikuyus are seen as supporters of Mr Kibaki.

AFP reports that supporters of the president have been celebrating in the streets of towns in the Central Province - Mr Kibaki's home region.

Results changed

The police have cordoned off Nairobi's Uhuru Park, where Mr Odinga's supporters have planned to hold a rival swearing-in ceremony.

The police have warned officials of Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement they will be arrested if they turn up.


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It's a sad day for democracy in Kenya
Arthur, Nairobi

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Chief EU election observers Alexander Graf Lambsdorff told the BBC that his monitors had been barred from counting centres in the Central Province.

He also said that results from one constituency had been declared by the Electoral Commission of Kenya in Nairobi, which were different when that announced in the same constituency at local level.

He said the anomalies amounted to 20,000-25,000 votes in just one constituency.

Mr Kibaki's national margin of victory was 230,000 votes.

"I myself have seen forms which have been changed and no-one could tell me who had done the changes," he said.

"Interestingly enough, all the changes favoured the same candidate."

Elections chief Samuel Kivuitu has admitted some problems, including a reported voter turnout of 115% in one constituency, reports the AP news agency.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7165602.stm

Fears mount over Kenya violence
Looter in Kibera, Nairobi
Some of the violence has taken on an ethnic dimension
Diplomatic pressure on Kenya's leaders is mounting as concerns rise over violence that has left at least 120 people dead after disputed polls.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged both sides to work for a solution after what his government called "horrific killings".

The US government said it had "serious concerns" about the vote count.

Mwai Kibaki was officially re-elected president while Raila Odinga says he was robbed of victory by voting fraud.

There were running battles in Nairobi slums on Monday, and violence broke out at protests in Mr Odinga's home town of Kisumu.

Some of the clashes took on an ethnic dimension with the Luo community seen as pro-Odinga and the Kikuyus viewed as Kibaki supporters.

See how the vote was split around the country

If the two sides cannot be persuaded to start talking in the next few days, there is fear that the violence could spiral out of control and turn into full-scale tribal revenge killings, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall.

Kenya's Red Cross said many of the dead were killed in ethnic clashes and that gangs were checking the tribal affiliations of Red Cross workers trying to help the injured, the Associated Press reported.

'Appalled'

Mr Brown telephoned Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga amid diplomatic efforts to broker a compromise, urging both to work for "unity and reconciliation".


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In pictures: Poll violence
Voters' views
Defiance under fire

"We're appalled by and condemn the incidents of violence taking place in Kenya, including horrific killings in several Kenyan cities and towns," said UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

The US and the EU both expressed concern over the election.

"What's clear is that there are some real problems here and that those need to be resolved in accordance with their constitution and in accordance with their legal system," said Tom Casey, a US State Department spokesman.

"I am not offering congratulations to anybody because we have serious concerns about the vote count," he added.

Rally

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged security forces "to show utmost restraint" and appealed to Kenyans "for calm, patience and respect for law."

Mr Odinga has called for a million-strong rally by supporters in Nairobi on Thursday.

A nurse attends to Jacob Ochieng in Masaba Hospital, Nairobi
Demonstrators have been involved in running battles with police

Police banned his supporters from holding a mass alternative inauguration ceremony in the centre of the capital on Monday, a day after Mr Kibaki was sworn into office again.

In his New Year's message, the president urged reconciliation but warned that his government would "deal decisively with those who breach the peace".

Mr Odinga called on his supporters not to "ethnicise" the disputed poll. He compared Mr Kibaki to a military dictator who "seized power through the barrel of the gun."


HAVE YOUR SAY
It's a sad day for democracy in Kenya
Arthur, Nairobi

Send us your comments

International news agencies have counted at least 100 deaths across Kenya since Thursday's elections- with some death tolls as high as 135 - either in clashes between protesters and security forces, or in ethnic violence.

* A hospital in the north-western city of Eldoret told AFP news agency it had recorded 24 violent deaths since Saturday, with most victims either injured by gunfire or machetes

* An AFP count puts the death toll in Kisumu at 53 and that in Nairobi's slums at 48

* Seven people were killed in Nakuru, in the Rift Valley, and at least four people were killed in Mombasa

* In the coastal town of Mombasa, angry crowds on the streets set fire to cars and buildings.

Correspondents say violence was worst in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, where a BBC reporter saw about 40 bodies with gunshot wounds at a mortuary. A witness said police had opened fire.


OFFICIAL RESULTS
Mwai Kibaki. File photo
Mwai Kibaki (pictured): 4,584,721 votes
Raila Odinga: 4,352,993
Kalonzo Musyoka: 879,903

Kibaki: Dream or nightmare?
Odinga: King-maker

Police fired indiscriminately, even after the protesters started running away in the Kisumu suburbs of Manyatta and Nyamasira, an eye-witness told the BBC's Noel Mwakugu.

European Union monitors have said they were barred from counting centres.

They reported seeing altered voting forms and said results declared in Nairobi for one constituency differed from those announced locally.

Mr Kibaki's national margin of victory was 230,000 votes.

Elections chief Samuel Kivuitu has admitted some problems, including a reported voter turnout of 115% in one constituency, the Associated Press reports.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7166515.stm