Kenyan rivals meet face-to-face
BBC - January 25, 2008

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, have met for the first time since last month's disputed presidential election.

The talks in Nairobi were mediated by former UN chief Kofi Annan, who said some first steps had been taken towards a peaceful solution to the crisis.

Weeks of violence followed the election results, which Mr Odinga has rejected.

After the talks, his party condemned a statement by Mr Kibaki in which he said he was the "duly elected president".

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing opposition officials of helping to organise ethnic violence in the Rift Valley region, in which hundreds of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu community were deliberately targeted and killed.

"We have evidence that Orange Democratic Movement politicians and local leaders actively fomented some post-election violence," said Human Rights Watch's acting Africa director.

ODM spokesman Salim Lone said HRW should provide concrete evidence before jeopardising mediation efforts. The party has denied previous accusations of ethnic cleansing.

The unrest triggered by the election on 27 December has left more than 650 people dead and driven 250,000 from their homes ...