Post-election unrest kills 300 in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- At least 300 people have died in violence following Kenya's presidential election and investors were fearful of a downturn in the economy because of the unrest.

Police in Nairobi used water cannons and tear gas on hundreds of Kenyans at a banned rally Thursday protesting alleged vote fixing.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga defied a police ban on the rally against Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election on Dec. 27, South Africa's Durbin Post reported.

The protesters chanted "peace" and sang the Kenyan national anthem as police blocked off the area around the downtown Uhuru park in a bid to prevent more people from assembling, the report said.

More than 300 Kenyans have been killed in unrest since the election, which Kibaki won by a very thin margin, Nairobi's Nation newspaper reported. CNN said thousands have been forced to flee as businesses were looted and destroyed. Tourism came to a virtual halt and Kenya's stock market lost nearly $600 million Wednesday, Business Daily Africa said.

Odinga told reporters he would accept international mediation and proposed setting up an interim power-sharing government to prepare for a re-run of the vote he said should be conducted within three months.

South Africa's Bishop Desmond Tutu arrived in the city Thursday to act as mediator between Odinga and Kibaki.