The ODM (Orange Democratic Movement) member, Hon. Kimutai David Too was shot in Eldoret by a policeman. Some reports (e.g. London Times) say he was shot at a roadblock. The official police spokesman has been saying that it was a love triangle, that he was having an affair with the policeman's wife. (The story seems to be changing, but note that is not atypical of a newly breaking story.)
On Tuesday, Hon. Melitus Mugabe Were was murdered outside his home. The Mungiki, a criminal gang composed of members of the Kikuyu tribe, claimed credit, and promised that there would be more.
ODM has stated that they consider it to be an assassination.
ODM (Raila Odinga's party) in opposition to the PNU (Mwai Kibaki's party) took narrow control of Parliament on January 16th, electing Speaker Merende by 106-101 (apparently later revised to 105-101 and one spoilt ballot). ODM had 92 seats itself, and attained a majority with an informal coalition with smaller parties and/or individual members. (The vote was by secret ballot, so exactly what coalition or defections occurred is not known.)
This has now been reduced to 90 seats. ODM claims that this is the intent. Salim Lone (ODM spokesman) said that if the government has evidence that it was a love triangle as claimed, they should present it as soon as possible to prevent further unrest.
"Unless evidence is presented to the contrary, Kenyans will believe that the execution of two MPs within a few days is politically motivated," Lone said, noting that no lawmaker has been killed in Kenya since the turbulent early 1990s. [Washington Post, January 31, 2008; 7:01 AM EST]
The shooting in Eldoret comes just after Minister for Internal Security George Saitoti had yesterday issued a shoot-to-kill order to the police, permitting them to use deadly force in dealing with anyone looting, committing violence, or carrying weapons.
Mwai Kibaki is in Addis Abbaba at a (previously scheduled) African Union summit meeting. A spokesperson for the AU stated that the Kenyan issue was to be discussed, but also pointed out that there was already a heavy agenda, including Darfur and other troubled areas.
Kibaki's absence from the country at this time, while negotiations mediated by Kofi Annan have just begun, has drawn serious criticism claiming that he considers looking like a Head of State in the company of others is more important than the lives and safety of Kenyans. [And I will observe that being out of the country might be a very bad tactical move; if, say, the Army wanted to take over, they could simply prevent his return!]
Other: Jendayi Frazer, a US envoy, said what she had seen was "ethnic cleansing". She also warned that a solution from outside the country could be imposed on Kenya if it does not solve its own problems. "We'll find an international mechanism if they can't find it internally," she said. [The Nation (Nairobi), 31 January 2008]