An eruption of fresh violence triggered by Kenya’s disputed presidential ballot left more than 100 dead on Monday, after defeated opposition candidate Raila Odinga rejected Mwai Kibaki’s re-election.
At least 150 people have now been killed since Thursday’s elections, which have left one of Africa’s more stable democracies teetering on the brink of turmoil. Further clashes were feared as Odinga planned to hold his own alternative inauguration at a mass rally later on Monday, a day after Kibaki was officially sworn in for a second term despite widespread allegations of vote-rigging.
At least 64 people were killed overnight in western Kenya in fresh outbreaks of tribal violence and clashes between police, looters and opposition activists.
Separate clashes in the capital Nairobi claimed a further 40 lives, police said.
The government has enforced a ban on live television broadcasts related to the election in what it says is an effort to contain the violence. A total of 46 bodies were brought to the morgue overnight in Kisumu, Kenya’s third largest city. Local police chief Grace Kaindi acknowledged that police had opened fire on “looters” during the night. Police imposed a day-time curfew in the city, with an order to shoot violators.