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Kenya opposition says Kibaki undermining mediation

Sat 2 Feb 2008, 13:11 GMT
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NAIROBI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga accused President Mwai Kibaki on Saturday of undermining talks to end a political crisis by insisting that a court in Kenya could resolve the dispute over his Dec. 27 re-election.

"Kibaki's remarks (at the African Union summit) in Addis Ababa ... basically undermine the spirit of mediation," Odinga said. He said his party was nonetheless committed to talks mediated by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan.

At the AU summit in Ethiopia on Friday, Kibaki said he had been elected by a majority of Kenyans, blamed Odinga's party for the nearly 900 deaths in more than a month of unrest and said the dispute must be settled by Kenya's courts.

Odinga said he had no confidence in the independence of the country's judiciary.

"Mr Kibaki has, on the one hand, said that he is committed to the ongoing mediation process," Odinga said. "On the other hand, he is undermining the process by saying the problems in Kenya can be resolved locally by court action." (Reporting by Nick Tattersall)

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