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Slain Kenyan Pol a Key to Peace

Multi-ethnic opposition MP was would-be peacemaker

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 30, 2008 11:25 AM CST

(Newser) – The Kenyan opposition lawmaker who was dragged from his car yesterday and shot to death could have been key to ending the ethnically charged turmoil, reports the New York Times, but his assassination instead further plunged the country into violent chaos. Melitus Mugabe Were had been working toward peace, able to bridge ethnic divides because of his Kikuyu wife. “Whoever did this has killed the dreams of many,” one friend said.

Were’s killing sparked angry denunciations. “The very foundation of the state is crumbling. Violence is spiraling out of control,” said Raila Odinga, leader of Were’s party; another threatened "four Kikuyus will die" as anguished protesters cried "You started by killing us and now you're killing our leaders!" Police fired tear gas to break up a crowd of mourners, turning them into an angry, tire-burning mob.

[Images (5)]

[Videos (1)]

Family members and friends of Mugabe Were, a member of parliament representing Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), laments his assasination 29 January 2008. Were was shot dead early Tuesday... (Getty Images)

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga (3rd L) takes a close look at the body of Mugabe Were, a member of parliament representing Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) 29 January 2008. Were was shot... (Getty Images)

A member of the Kikuyu tribe living in the Kibera slum of Nairobi walks with his bloodied shirt away from Kenyan police during ethnic clashes in Nairobi 29 January 2008. The slaying of a Kenyan opposition... (Getty Images)

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga (3rd R) mourns 29 January 2008 over the body of ODM MP Mugabe Were who was shot dead early Tuesday in a murder the police believe is linked to the dispute that erupted... (Getty Images)

A member of the Kikuyu tribe carries a panga or machete as he runs past a fire others had set up outside a row of houses reportedly owned by Luo tribe families and which they ransacked in the Rift valley... (Getty Images)

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Slain Kenyan Pol a Key to Peace