People try to extinguish burning houses during ethnic violence in the wake of genocide claims. Photo / Reuters

People try to extinguish burning houses during ethnic violence in the wake of genocide claims. Photo / Reuters


NAIROBI - President Mwai Kibaki's government accused rival Raila Odinga's party of unleashing "genocide" in Kenya as the death toll from tribal violence over a disputed election passed 300.

"It is becoming clear that these well-organised acts of genocide and ethnic-cleansing were well-planned, financed and rehearsed by Orange Democratic Movement leaders prior to the general elections," the statement read by Lands Minister Kivutha Kibwana on behalf of his colleagues said.

Odinga's supporters, drawn mainly from his Luo tribe, have blamed the violence on Kibaki for provoking citizens by "stealing" a December 27 vote that international observers said fell short of democratic standards. Both sides claimed rigging.

Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe was immediately targeted in the initial violence, but revenge killings by Kikuyus are on the rise in mayhem rights groups say has been exacerbated by a police crackdown on rioting and looting.

In an apparent olive branch to ODM, Kibaki invited all members of the new opposition-dominated parliament to a meeting at State House in Nairobi. But no opposition MPs attended as Odinga demanded outside mediation.

"We cannot dialogue with a thief," he told reporters. "We are not interested in talking with Kibaki without international mediation."

Ghanaian President and African Union Chairman John Kufuor, urged by Western nations to mediate, was waiting to talk to Kibaki before deciding whether to go himself or send a team.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Kufuor would go and would meet Kibaki and Odinga on Thursday.

Odinga plans a mass rally for Thursday, which has been banned by the government on security grounds.

The use of the word genocide will horrify Kenyans, used to being viewed by the world as a stable democracy, investment and tourist destination and oasis of peace in an otherwise volatile region scarred by the likes of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

The turmoil delayed trading in the shilling currency, which then dropped to a six-week low. Stocks also fell and tea and coffee auctions were postponed.

British Foreign Minister David Miliband and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a joint statement called for an end to violence and "an intensive political and legal process" to end the crisis.

Kenya is an important ally of the West in its counter-terrorism efforts, takes growing money-flows from China, and is used to being the peacemaker - rather than the conflict focus - in African hot-spots like Somalia and Sudan.