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Kibaki, Odinga remain at odds

Two weeks after Kenya's disputed presidential election erupted into the country's worst civil strife in 25 years, rival leaders are still at loggerheads and people are braced for more unrest.

International mediators who rushed to the east African nation have failed to clinch a political deal seen as key to preserving Kenya's status as a beacon of regional stability and economic strength.

On Dec. 30, President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the election held three days earlier, but his opposition rival, pre-poll frontrunner Raila Odinga, charged the incumbent rigged his way to re-election.

International observers also voiced concern over irregularities in the vote tallying, and the results sparked a nationwide wave of fiercely-repressed riots and tit-for-tat tribal killings that have left nearly 700 dead.

After initial mediation by South Africa's Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, Washington sent its top Africa diplomat, Jendayi Frazer, for an unusually long assignment aimed at stabilizing a key US ally.

On Saturday, the US assistant secretary of state said it was "imperative" for Kibaki and Odinga to sit together "directly and without preconditions".

But Kibaki, who took the oath of office as president less than an hour after the electoral commission announced the result two weeks ago, has pressed on with his agenda, naming a partial Cabinet last week.

The 76-year-old Kibaki, who is Kenya's longest serving parliamentarian, described the Cabinet line-up as "broad-based" and appointed opposition presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka as vice president.

But Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) charged the Cabinet was "a joke" packed with the president's cronies and labeled Kibaki "an eminent thief" who was running away with a stolen election.

After canceling several planned protests, including a "million-man march" during which Odinga was to be presented as the "people's president", ODM reverted to its initial strategy, announcing three days of rallies beginning on Wednesday in 30 towns.

Kenyan police warned the rallies were illegal, setting up a fresh showdown between opposition supporters and the state Israeli-trained paramilitary police.

The announcement heightened fears Kenya could be headed for more violence and a repeat of the complete shutdown that crippled the country during the elections and the following week.

Mediators have been suggesting a power-sharing deal between the 76-year-old Kibaki, a member of Kenya's dominant Kikuyu tribe, and Odinga, a Luo with strong support among the nation's poorest.

But Kibaki has left little room for ODM participation and Odinga has demanded the president's resignation as well as a re-run of the election.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan was expected in Kenya in the next few days to work for a compromise solution.

His successor at the helm of the world body, Ban Ki-moon, has warned that "the potential for further bloodshed remains high unless the political crisis is quickly resolved."

Accusations of genocide, reports of women and children being burnt alive in a church and footage of rival tribesmen hacking each other to death have shattered Kenya's image as a haven of peace in the restive region.

Tourist bookings suffered 90 percent cancelations for January and experts have warned that the crisis could cost the country up to US$1 billion.

Up to 250,000 people have been displaced by the violence and aid agencies have had to divert aid from other programs to rescue the population of Kenya, traditionally a land of asylum for its neighbors.
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