Kenya Violence May Be Easing

A tentative peace may have come to Kenya after the political opposition canceled its rallies and after there were reports that the head of the African Union would attempt to broker a truce. Rioting and other violence since elections last week have killed hundreds.

AP via the International Herald Tribune:

President Mwai Kibaki, who claimed re-election last week after a deeply flawed vote count, invited Raila Odinga, the top opposition leader who said he had been cheated out of victory, to talks Friday, and Odinga indicated that he would go, if certain conditions were met.

The meeting was announced as other progress was made on the political front, with the chairman of the African Union expected to arrive in Kenya this week and Odinga agreeing to call off big protest rallies scheduled for Tuesday that many feared would degenerate into bloodshed.

Salim Lone, a spokesman for Odinga, said, “We will be happy to participate if this meeting is part of the process that will be put in place by John Kufuor,” the head of the African Union and president of Ghana, who was expected to arrive in Kenya on Tuesday or Wednesday.

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AP photo / Karel Prinsloo

A supporter of the Orange Democratic Party holds up a machete in front of a burning barricade during riots in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. Tensions over Kenya’s election erupted into violence in Nairobi and opposition strongholds.