Kenyan President Offers Unity Government Opposition rejects idea
by CBC News
Kenya's president says he's ready to form "a government of national unity" to help resolve disputed election results that sparked deadly riots in his country over the past week, but the opposition leader is standing firm on his demands to rerun the Dec. 27 vote.

President Mwai Kibaki made the offer Saturday during a meeting with the leading U.S. diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses Kibaki of rigging recent presidential elections, also met with Frazer. Later, a spokesman for Odinga said his position has not changed.

Spokesman Salim Lone said Odinga would rather have a new election than share power.

"Raila has said a number of times that he is not happy with [the idea of] a government of national unity. He has said he would rather remain in the opposition," Lone said.

The dispute has sparked days of rioting and ethnic killing. At least 180,000 people have fled their homes to escape the violence, the United Nations estimates.

More than half of the refugees are from the northern Rift Valley near Eldoret, a town where some 30 people were burned to death in a church this week. In total, about 300 people are reported to have died in the unrest.

The UN's World Food Program is trying to get food and supplies to the refugees.

A World Food Program spokeswoman, Christiane Berthiaume, said people are living in terrible conditions, and getting food to them is difficult because of insecurity.

"We have 200 trucks in Mombasa that are loaded with food for 1.5 million people for Kenya and also for the region, and some of them are blocked in Mombasa right now," she said.

Transportation of aid is on hold because of insecure main roads and checkpoints set up by vigilantes in western Kenya, officials said. Cargo is being left on ships in Mombasa's port.

With files from the Associated Press

 

 

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