Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his team of Graca Machel and Benjamin Mkapa stood by the side with visible signs of excitment and although the two leaders in their speeches gave no firm commitments on how they would resolve the impasse they maintained they would strive to bring'sustainable peace'

In their speeches on the steps of Harambee House- the official Presidential government office, they both appealed for immediate calm, with Kibaki pledging to rebuild the affected towns, resettle the displaced victims and "do everything else possible to ensure Kenyans live as brothers."

Kibaki was however more firm in his swahili off cuff remarks where he insisted that " watu lazima wakubalishwe kuishi pale pale wanakoishi na hiyo ni lazima...na hapo ndipo serikali itawanjengea na kuwasaidia kuendelea na maisha, hata miji yote tutaitengeneza...(People must be allowed to live where they have been living and that is where we will resettle them and help them in rebuilding and going on with their lives and we will sure help everyone go back where they used to live and we will even reconstruct the towns that have been ruined)

Odinga on his part said that peace had to be restored and ""We have taken the first vital steps in resolving electoral disputes," adding, "I ask everyone to be patient and uphold peace in a spirit of brotherhood."

The meeting was hosted by Mr Annan at the president's office at Harambee House in central Nairobi.

Afterwards, the rivals stood side-by-side outside, smiling and shaking hands.

Mr Odinga said his party was committed to peace, but stressed that it had to be sustainable.

Mr Kibaki also said he was committed to dialogue.

Mr Annan described the meeting as "a very encouraging development".

"I think we have begun to take some first steps towards a peaceful solution of the problem, and as you can see, the two leaders are here to underline their engagement to dialogue and to work together for a just and sustainable peace," he said.

At an earlier meeting with Mr Annan in Nairobi, Mr Kibaki told the former UN secretary general that he wanted to resolve the political crisis triggered by December's disputed election.

On Wednesday, Mr Odinga called off a mass protest planned for Thursday in Nairobi after holding talks with Mr Annan.

Earlier, in a damning report, Human Rights Watch accused some ODM officials of helping to organise violence in the Rift Valley region in which hundreds of President Kibaki's Kikuyu community were killed following the announcement of his election victory.

The report quoted members of the rival Kalenjin group, who said they were mobilised by their leaders to attack and loot Kikuyu-owned shops and businesses.

Local ODM officials and Kalenjin leaders "arranged frequent meetings following the election to organise, direct and facilitate the violence unleashed by gangs of local youth", HRW said.

"Opposition leaders are right to challenge Kenya's rigged presidential poll, but they can't use it as an excuse for targeting ethnic groups," said Georgette Gagnon, the group's acting Africa director.

HRW warned that more attacks were being planned on the Eldoret areas of Langas and Munyaka, where many Kikuyu homes remain intact, and called on the opposition to take steps to prevent them.

However contacted on phone ODM spokesman, Salim Lone said it was easy for people to misunderstand second-hand stories about killings and said HRW should provide concrete evidence saying the matter was a serious issue and could even jeopardize mediation efforts.

"We have evidence that Orange Democratic Movement politicians and local leaders actively fomented some post-election violence," said Human Rights Watch's acting Africa director.

The ODM has denied previous charges of "ethnic cleansing" of Mr Kibaki's Kikuyu ethnic group saying the unrest which has left more than 650 people dead and driven 250,000 from their homes was purely a political issue.


See videos on post-election Kenya and on the whole election coverage
See the Kenya Protest - Day One photo gallery
See The Kenya Protest - Day Two photo gallery
See the Nakuru displaced photo gallery
See the burial of violence victim photo gallery


Keywords: kenya_elections