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Kenya peace rocked as gang kills 13

April 16, 2008

NAIROBI: A criminal gang has clashed with riot police in Kenya, killing at least 13 people as it vowed to take its fight nationwide in an unsettling reminder of Kenya's fragile peace after January's deadly post-election crisis.

Police shot dead two people when the dreaded Mungiki gang took to the streets for the second day last night, presenting a brazen challenge to Kenya's new coalition government on only its second day in existence.

The gang, drawn from the majority Kikuyu tribe, has said it is protesting over the beheading of its jailed leader's wife last week, which it blamed on police. Police deny that.

Mungiki, Kenya's version of the mafia, has provided muscle-for-hire to politicians in the past. It provoked a bloody police crackdown that led to more than 100 deaths last year, after the group killed and beheaded scores of people.

Police presence across the Kenyan capital was heavy, a regular sight in the nation since the disputed December 27 presidential election spilled into ethnic violence.

Officials said yesterday that the violence was not connected to the election, which unleashed weeks of bloodshed and tarnished Kenya's reputation for stability.

The bloodshed, if it continues, poses a challenge to Kenya's newpower-sharing Government, which was formed at the weekend amid growing international pressure after more than 1000 people were killed following the disputed ballot.

On Monday, gangsters were exchanging gunfire with police metres from tent camps where some of the country's 300,000 displaced live.

Dorian Opio, 13, peeked out of the gates of her primary school as riot police fired live bullets and teargas down alleyways. A flaming police station next door sent black smoke billowing.

"I don't know if I should walk home," Dorian said.

"I think maybe I should go. Allthe other students left, but I don't know how I'll get there."

Members of the Mungiki, an outlawed sect linked to a string of beheadings, held protests in several cities across the country - including Nairobi's slums and the western town of Naivasha, which were scenes of some of the worst post-election violence in January and February.

The protesters demanded the release of their leader, Maina Njenga, from prison, and accused police of being behind the death of Njenga's wife - the gang's acting leader last week.

Mungiki emerged in the 1990s, inspired by the Mau Mau rebellion against colonial rule.

The group is believed to havethousands of adherents, all drawn from the Kikuyu tribe. In recent years, Mungiki - which means "multitude" in the Kikuyu language - has been linked to extortion, murder and political violence.

The violence comes at a precarious time in Kenya. President Mwai Kibaki named opposition leader Raila Odinga as Prime Minister on Sunday, implementing a long-awaited power-sharing deal aimed at resolving the country's political crisis.

The deal marks the first time Kenya will have both a president and prime minister. But the relationship between Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga, which has been frosty in the past, will determine how long the coalition lasts.

AP, Reuters

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