Kenyan opposition MP shot dead

29/01/2008| IslamWeb

A Kenyan opposition politician has been shot dead by gunmen outside his home in the capital, Nairobi.

Police said that they were not ruling out "political motives" connected to the disputed presidential elctions on December 27 in the killing of Mugabe Were, a politician for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM.)

Police said that two gunmen shot Were as the politician drove up to the gates of his home in the Woodley district just after midnight, then fled the scene.

Julius Ndegwa, the Nairobi area chief, said: "We have launched investigations.

"The two criminals who shot him did not steal the car or anything else."

Tony Gachoka, an ODM spokesman, said: "He was shot at his house. The current situation makes one suspicious. All fingers will point at the government, and the government will have to show it is not involved."

Tribal fighting

Were won a seat in the December 27 legislative vote, held at the same time as presidential elections.

President Mwai Kibaki was declared victorious in the presidential elections, a disputed result which has led to upsurges of violence around the country, particularly in the Rift Valley province.

Soldiers moved into the town of Naivasha in the province in western Kenya the day before in an attempt to quell tribal fighting that has cost dozens of lives.

Katee Mwanza, the district commissioner, said at least 22 people had been killed in the Naivasha area in ethnic clashes over the past two days, with police saying at least five were burned to death.

PHOTO CAPTION 

Kenyan men from the Luo tribe armed with machetes and rocks enforce a makeshift roadblock.

Al-Jazeera