One shot dead in Kenya pre-election mayhem: officials

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2007

NAIROBI (AFP) — A man was shot dead and several were injured at a violent rally in western Kenya on Thursday, officials said, as pre-election mayhem raged ahead of this month's vote.

The fatality occurred when rival groups clashed at the campaign meeting in Kakamega district, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, police said.

The man, a taxi driver, died on arrival at Kakamega district hospital after a bullet penetrated his ribs, Japheth Maloba, a doctor at the facility, told the Standard newspaper.

Police said the man was shot when a politician's bodyguard opened fire to secure his boss.

The latest death brings the death toll to at least 39 in poll-related incidents since July.

More than 14 million Kenyans are...