Kenya opposition leader calls for intervention

KENYA’S opposition leader has called for “international intervention” amid an election crisis, saying at least 31 supporters have been killed since Friday.

Raila Odinga said they had been killed by police and militia since his return from an overseas trip.

He said the country “was being pushed to the precipice” after residents of a Nairobi slum protested about the killing of at least 13 people in an overnight attack by unknown gunmen.

“This is state-sponsored thuggery,” Mr Odinga said.

A local politician was shot in the leg during the protests that followed the killings, he said.

Police said four people were killed in the attack, but mortuary attendants told The Associated Press that 13 bodies, all with bullet wounds, had been brought in.

Mr Odinga said 18 people were shot dead on Friday when police tried to stop his supporters from lining the roads to welcome him after speaking engagements in the US and Britain.

Mortuary records corroborate the death toll he gave. Police said five people were killed by mobs.

Tensions have risen since the Supreme Court nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election in August, citing irregularities, after Mr Odinga challenged the results.

The court ordered a fresh vote last month which Mr Odinga boycotted, citing a lack of electoral reforms.

Mr Kenyatta won the repeat election in October, but his victory is again being challenged at the Supreme Court by civil society activists and a politician.

The court is due to announce its decision today