Kenyan voters defy threat of violence

Millions of Kenyans defied fears of violence yesterday, queuing in lines 800m long to vote in a general election, despite reports that at least 16 people were killed before polls opened.

Gangs armed with machetes, knives and bows and arrows carried out four separate attacks on voting centres close to the country's Indian Ocean coast.

News of the raids, soon after midnight yesterday, failed to deter millions of voters from leaving home before dawn. Queues formed in the dark before the official start at 6am.

Nearly 100000 soldiers, police officers, prison guards and reservists were stationed at 33400 polling stations across the country, and patrolled potential flashpoints. There had been fears of a repeat of the 2007 election when 1100 people died in six weeks of violence and 600000 were forcibly evicted from their homes.

The only significant eruptions of violence yesterday were the coast attacks, which police blamed on the secessionist Mombasa Republican Council.

Its members warned last week that they were "prepared" violently to disrupt the elections.

Nine police officers and one wildlife warden drafted in to protect polling stations were killed in Mombasa, Kenya's second city, close to the popular beach towns of Malindi and Kilifi. Two civilians and four gang members also died.

A spokesman for the MRC denied involvement. The group is campaigning for coastal Kenyans to boycott the vote and instead agitate for secession.

A dozen people contacted across Kenya said that the process was peaceful, but many reported problems with a new computerised voter identification system.

Peter Mwangi, whose grandmother died in a fire at a church started by supporters of rival politicians after the last election, said there was "no tension" in Kiambaa, about 300km northwest of Nairobi.

"The only problem is that this thing is complicated," he said. "People are taking long to vote, and the machines are causing problems. People don't understand exactly what they are doing."

The 14.4 million voters were choosing from 12461 candidates for six elective positions, from president to local assemblymen.

Kennedy Omondi, 31, was the first voter into polling station No 6 at the Olympic Secondary School in Kibera, one of Nairobi's largest shanty towns. The thumbprint voter registration system failed to recognise him, despite millions of pounds spent on its development. Omondi was eventually manually identified. Within five minutes however he had marked all six ballot papers.

"Voting to me is the thing that makes all Kenyans equal," he said.

Both leading presidential candidates, Raila Odinga, 68, the prime minister, and Uhuru Kenyatta, 51, the former finance minister and son of Kenya's first post-independence president, made 11th-hour appeals to ensure their supporters voted.

Despite peaceful voting, there were still concerns that any suggestion the final result was not fair could cause chaos.

Odinga's camp has accused government officers of illegally backing his rival. Kenyatta faces charges at the International Criminal Court, which he denies, over his alleged role in the post-election violence in 2007.

Counting of votes began last night and a result is expected later today or tomorrow.