Kenya opposition plans new rally

The disputed winner, Mwai Kibaki, has said he is ready to talk to the opposition, once the unrest has ended.

Meanwhile, Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako has called for an independent investigation into the 27 December poll result.

Mr Wako said on national television that "a proper tally of the valid certificates returned and confirmed should be undertaken immediately".

But Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement rejected the call.

In his first public comments on the events of the past week, President Kibaki said: "I am ready to have dialogue with the concerned parties once the nation is calm and the political temperatures are lowered enough for constructive and productive engagement."

However, he warned that "those who continue to violate the law will face its full force" and made it clear that he thought that the opposition was to blame for the violence.

"I am deeply disturbed by the senseless violence instigated by some leaders in pursuit of their personal political agenda," he said.

Tally meddling claim

On Thursday, opposition supporters were forced to postpone a banned mass rally in Nairobi after they clashed with police using tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds.

Thousands of people had tried to gather in the city's Uhuru (Freedom) Park, many of them pouring out of Kibera slum and other shanty towns just after dawn, but were prevented from reaching the centre of Nairobi by a massive security presence.

A spokeswoman for European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that the EU and US had agreed to push Mr Kibaki and his opposition rival to consider a coalition government, following talks between Mr Solana and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

However, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack later said that was not what was agreed.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has flown in to try to mediate in the crisis.

The Nobel laureate was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: "This is a country that has been held up as a model of stability. This picture has been shattered."

However, plans for African Union leader John Kufuor to travel to Kenya on Thursday to spearhead mediation efforts have not come to fruition.

SOURCE