Opposition leader in Kenya calls for mass rallies

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s opposition leader on Sunday signaled he is willing to share power with the government he accuses of rigging elections, but at the same time called for mass rallies – a move that threatens renewed bloodletting.

Weary Kenyans, some hungry and homeless after a week of violence marked by ethnic clashes, prayed for peace and begged leaders to break the political deadlock.

“This fighting is meaningless,” said Eliakim Omondi, 17, at a Lutheran church in Nairobi’s Kibera slum that was torched last week. “I wish they would just talk and square everything so the fighting will stop.”

Pastor Dennis Meeker urged congregants kneeling before a charred cross to “be with those who tried to kill you and destroy you.” A woman dropped to the floor screaming “Forgive the people who attacked our church!”

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claims incumbent President Mwai Kibaki stole the vote, told reporters he was ready to talk about sharing power, but only through a mediator empowered to negotiate an agreement that the international community would guarantee.

He welcomed the imminent arrival of Ghana’s President John Kufuor, chairman of the African Union, who is expected in Nairobi by Tuesday.

Jendayi Frazer, the leading U.S. diplomat on Africa, was in Nairobi talking to both Kibaki and Odinga, whom the United States, Britain and the European Union have urged to negotiate.

More than 300 people have died and 250,000 have been forced from their homes in the upheaval over the balloting.

The troubles eased over the weekend, although there have been isolated machete fights and ethnic attacks, and police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the coastal tourist town of Mombasa.

But more clashes are likely if Odinga presses ahead with his call for supporters to rally Tuesday in defiance of a government ban. Government spokesman Alfred Mutua said any such demonstrations would be illegal.

“If there is any bloodshed during these rallies it will be the government’s responsibility,” Odinga told reporters.