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| Africa Horn |
| Police kill second Kenyan oppo leader, riots ensue |
| 2008-02-02 |
| A police officer in Kenya shot dead an opposition MP yesterday, the second killed in a week, triggering fatal protests and interrupting talks to try to end more than a month of violence. Fresh protests erupted yesterday after David Kimutai Too, an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MP, was killed in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret. Hussein Ali, the police commissioner, said Mr Too's murder was a "crime of passion". The traffic police officer responsible, who had been arrested, shot a fellow officer – believed to be his girlfriend – along with the MP, Mr Ali said. However, Raila Odinga, the ODM leader, insisted it was a political act. "I condemn this second execution of an ODM member of parliament. The purpose of this killing is to reduce the ODM majority," he said. Shops shut down in Eldoret and some residents began to leave as protesters in the suburbs took to the streets. Witnesses said soldiers fired into the air, killing at least one person. "When we heard about the death of the MP everybody came out. A Kenyan army Land Rover appeared and they started shooting," one resident, Willy Kiboi, said. "One Sudanese man is dead and three people are injured." On roads around Eldoret, youths with bows and arrows stopped cars, and smoke rose from burning homes. A crowd gathered outside the police station, demanding that the accused be handed over. "Let him be brought out so we can do our own justice," one protester shouted. "This is a government plot to wipe out the ODM." |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #1 Keep up the good work, Kofi. We're counying on ya... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-02-02 15:45 |