Fears of fresh violence rise as Kenya prepares to vote on new constitution

NAOMI Kamau, her three children and another woman faced a group of screaming armed men wielding machetes within minutes of President Mwai Kibaki being declared winner of a disputed 2007 election.

The Kamaus, ethnic Kikuyus, fled their Nyakinyua farm deep in the fertile Rift Valley, hounded by Kalenjin youths angry over what they felt was rigging of the vote by Mr Kibaki.

Tribal tensions fanned by politicians during elections have turned Burnt Forest some 200 miles northwest of the capital Nairobi into a litmus test of violence in Kenya's polls, and tomorrow's referendum on a new constitution is no exception. Some Burnt Forest residents, mostly Kikuyus, spoke of rising tribal tensions and some, like Kamau, have abandoned their farms and others have sent their wives and children to safe havens.

"We fled our farm because we are afraid of more killings," 33-year-old Naomi Kamau said at a camp some 100 miles south of her farm where families who fled the violence have found shelter. "We have been receiving veiled threats. They (Kalenjin] are saying whether the constitution passes or fails at the ballot we will have to go," she said referring to the referendum.

Ms Kamau said after the fighting in which some 1,300 died countrywide, she and her family resumed planting on their farm until last week. She said she would not risk her life as during the post-election violence in early 2008, when Kalenjin warriors evicted Kikuyus, torching houses, looting and killing.

On the night of her escape when Kibaki won the vote, the "other woman" with Kamau was, in fact, her husband who she had helped disguise himself in skirts. Men found by the enraged youths were killed on the spot.

Land, an emotive issue in Kenya, is one of the most divisive issues in the new constitution. The new law says the state could take back land given for political favours over the years, a key reason why many want to shoot down the new law.

William Ruto, a cabinet minister based and former ally of Prime Minister Raila Odinga - who lost the presidential election to Mr Kibaki, sparking the killings - is leading the "No" campaign with fellow Kalenjin, former president Daniel Arap Moi, who ruled for 24 years.

Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga back the new legal framework. Those who support the new charter say it could oversee equitable distribution of land and protect genuine land owners.

Ms Kamau said before the post-election violence, more than 5,000 Kikuyus farmed at Nyakinyua. Now only 50 are left. Those left are yet to rebuild their homes out of fear they could be razed during the referendum.

BACKGROUND

President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe and the Kalenjin of former president Daniel Arap Moi - who opposes the new law - have dominated Kenya's post-colonial politics and acquired swathes of land across the country and in the fertile Rift Valley in particular.

Other tribes, such as the Luo of prime minister Raila Odinga, say they have been politically and economically marginalised.

The Kalenjin community was the main beneficiary of the allocations, while many Kikuyus benefited under Kenya's first President Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu.

The Kikuyu are the largest ethnic group in Kenya, forming more than 20 per cent of the population. The Kalenjin and Luo are around the same size, at 12-13 per cent, and the Luhya form 15 per cent of the country's 40 million people.