Kibaki to crack down on protests after shunning critics

KENYAN President Mwai Kibaki’s government last night warned opposition supporters it would crack down on planned protests against his disputed poll win, after it lashed out at critics, including Britain’s ambassador.

Around 650 people have been killed and 250,000 displaced in violence since last month’s re-election.

Many of the deaths occurred in ethnic clashes involving machete-wielding youths, although police have also shot dead demonstrators in Nairobi and Kisumu in a largely successful bid to crush opposition rallies.