NAIROBI, Jan 8: Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday rejected bilateral talks with President Mwai Kibaki, dimming hopes for a breakthrough to end turmoil that has led to almost 500 deaths.

Kibaki had invited Odinga to talks on Friday but the opposition leader says he will only attend negotiations mediated by African Union chairman John Kufuor.

Kibaki did not invite Kufuor to the Friday talks and officials say he will remain in Nairobi for little more than 24 hours.

“We will not attend the talks on Friday. They are a sideshow,” Odinga told a news conference.

Despite huge international pressure, especially from western powers, Kibaki and Odinga have still not met face-to-face since violence erupted after Kibaki’s disputed re-election on Dec 30.

Odinga says Kibaki stole the Dec 27 election and must step down and make way for a new vote after a transitional period.

Kibaki has offered a government of national unity but is reluctant to accept international mediation. His officials say the crisis is an internal matter.

Odinga told reporters: “We want to engage in the negotiations under Mr Kufuor with utmost seriousness to make sure no stone remains unturned in the search for electoral justice.”

He accused Kibaki of trying to divert attention from Kufuor’s mission by offering bilateral talks in what he called a “public relations gimmick”.

“Clearly, he is extremely worried about an independent, international review of the election outcome,” Odinga said.

Odinga called off nationwide protests to allow time for mediation to work, but says they will resume if it fails.

He says police have killed hundreds during protests.

ECONOMIC COST: As the two sides squabbled, to the dismay of many ordinary Kenyans, Finance Minister Amos Kimunya said that he estimated the turmoil could have cost east Africa’s biggest economy around $1 billion.

One of the worst crises since Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963 has also badly hit a swathe of central and east African countries dependent on Mombasa port on the Indian Ocean. Britain and the United States pressed Kibaki and Odinga to find a solution.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told parliament Kufuor “needs Kenyan leaders ready to engage. Fail to compromise and they will forfeit the confidence, goodwill and support of their own people and the international community”.

Jendayi Frazer, Washington’s top diplomat for Africa, also issued a stinging rebuke to political leaders.

Kenyans “have been cheated by their leadership and their institutions”, she said.—Reuters