TIMELINE: Kenya in crisis after disputed elections

(Reuters) - Attorney General Amos Wako called on Thursday for an independent probe into Kenya's election after a day of battles between police and protesters disputing the re-election of President Mwai Kibaki.

Warning Kenya was "quickly degenerating into a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions," Wako said both sides should agree on an independent person or body to carry out "a proper tally" of votes from the December 27 poll.

Here is a chronology of Kibaki's presidency:

December 27, 2002 - Former Vice President Kibaki, candidate of the opposition National Rainbow Coalition, wins a presidential election on pledges to deliver a new constitution in 100 days. The victory ends Daniel arap Moi's 24-year rule and the Kenya African National Union's (KANU) four decades in power.

November 22, 2003 - International Monetary Fund (IMF) resumes lending after three-year gap, saying the new government has shown commitment to end corruption.

December 21 - Moi is granted immunity from prosecution on corruption charges.

March 15, 2004 - Government withdraws from a conference convened to write a new constitution after most delegates vote to trim presidential powers.

February 7, 2005 - John Githongo quits as Kenya's first anti-corruption adviser, a blow to the fight against graft.

July 22 - Parliament votes to keep a strong presidency in a proposed new constitution. The vote leads to deepening divisions in the ruling coalition and triggers rioting in the capital.

November 22 - Kibaki suffers humiliating defeat when voters reject the new constitution in a referendum; he fires his government the next day.

December 9 - Twenty-six of 29 ministers are finally sworn in after Kibaki's struggle to form a new cabinet. Three refuse to appear although two of them later reverse that decision.

February 1, 2006 - Finance Minister David Mwiraria resigns over a multi-million dollar corruption scandal, says he is innocent.

June 3 - Key ministers from the ruling coalition break away to form a new party, the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya.

August 22 - Government agrees to opposition calls for parts of the constitution to be amended ahead of 2007 elections.

September 16, 2007 - Kibaki announces candidacy on the ticket of Party of National Unity, created as his re-election vehicle.

December 27 - Voters elect a new president and parliament. Most opinion polls give a lead to Kibaki's opposition rival Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement.

December 30 - Kibaki wins close-run election by the narrow margin of 230,000 votes and is hurriedly sworn in.

December 31 - The government floods the streets with security forces and keeps a ban on live TV broadcasts after riots convulse the nation.

January 1 - A mob torches a church, killing about 30 villagers.

January 2 - President Kibaki's government accuses rival Raila Odinga's backers of "ethnic cleansing" as the death toll from tribal violence reaches some 300.

January 3 - Attorney General Amos Wako calls for an independent probe into the election. After hours of police clashes with thousands of protesters, the opposition call off a planned demonstration.

(Writing by Jijo Jacob and David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)