By DPA
Nairobi : Kenyans affected by political unrest received the first deliveries of UN aid supplies Sunday as international mediators continued negotiations to seek a solution to the conflict that has engulfed the country since the Dec 21 presidential polls.
Top US envoy for Africa Jendayi Frazer was Sunday scheduled to meet President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who accuses Kibaki of cheating in the elections to win a second term in presidential office.
Also set to join the mediation effort in the coming week is President John Kufuor of Ghana, current chair of the African Union.
Kibaki said Saturday he was “ready to form a government of national unity that would not only unite Kenyans but would also help in the healing and reconciliation process.”
However, Odinga, whose Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) won most seats in simultaneous parliamentary elections, rejected the offer. He said there could be no direct talks with Kibaki, who had won office through “illegal” means.
The United Nations as well as global aid organizations are now seeking to help around 500,000 people affected by the post-poll ethnic tension across the country, which killed more than 300 people.
Aid supplies are to be channelled to the slums of Nairobi as well as to the city of Eldoret in the Rift Valley, where tensions have been particularly high.
Kibaki is backed by the largest ethnic group, the Kikuyus, while the Luo and Kalenjin groups – who seek greater autonomy – back Odinga.