Blood flows in Kenyan election

43 PEOPLE KILLED SINCE KENYATTA’S INITIAL VICTORY IN AUGUST

At least three people were shot dead yesterday in clashes over Kenya’s election rerun, prompting officials to delay voting in four counties as the country’s worst political crisis in a decade deepened.

The bloodshed stained Kenya’s second presidential election in three months, worsening a fractious ballot that has been boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga and polarised east Africa’s flagship democracy.

Two of the deaths occurred as protests raged in opposition strongholds in the west of the country, while the third person died in a Nairobi slum where clashes erupted between demonstrators and police.

The casualties raised to 43 the tally of people killed in election-related violence since the August victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court, prompting yesterday’s rerun.

As voting drew to a close, election chief Wafula Chebukati said the ballot would be postponed until tomorrow in four protest-hit counties in the west: Kisumu, Homa Bay, Migori and Siaya.

The move, he said, was due to “security-related” challenges.

As Odinga’s supporters hit the streets, others went to the polls to cast their ballots.

But in contrast to the August election, several polling stations stood empty or welcomed only a handful of voters in an election likely to face more legal battles.

As voting headed to a close, police and hospital sources confirmed three people had been shot dead and at least 24 wounded.

At Jaramogi Hospital in Odinga’s stronghold of Kisumu, an AFP correspondent saw several people arriving covered in blood.

“This is crazy – we are demonstrating and they shoot us!” said Samuel Okot, 20, who was sitting with his friend Joseph Ouma, who had been shot in the knee. “What kind of country is this?

The violence drew a sharp response from rights watchdog Amnesty International. “There is a real threat of further bloodshed as the election rerun takes place,” said Justus Nyangaya, director at Amnesty International Kenya.

“We are calling on the police to only use force as a last resort – unlawful police killings and other human rights violations must not be allowed to recur.” – AFP

Picture: AFP PROTESTING. An opposition supporter in front of a burning barricade in Mathare district in Nairobi yesterday as a group of demonstrators tried to prevent voters from accessing a polling station during presidential elections.