Kibaki faces tough fight in volatile Kenya vote

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Mobs in Kenya's opposition heartland beat up and killed at least three policemen accused of taking part in a plan to rig Thursday's elections in favor of President Mwai Kibaki, authorities said on Wednesday.

Ten other officers were hurt in western Nyanza province, homeland of opposition leader Raila Odinga. He has held a narrow lead over Kibaki in opinion polls ahead of a vote expected to be the east African nation's closest ever.

Local broadcaster KTN and Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had accused the government of disguising police as party agents to carry out fraud at polling stations.

When buses carrying officers arrived in different locations of Nyanza from Nairobi, crowds responded angrily, accusing them of a plot to rig the polls and throwing stones, witnesses said.

"They started attacking them. One died on the spot, another on the way to hospital," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said of the fracas late on Tuesday in one location, Mbita.

The other confirmed death was on Wednesday morning.

A media source in Nyanza, who asked not to be named, said there were in fact four deaths, while an election official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, nine were feared killed.

With Thursday's presidential and parliamentary vote seen as a big test of Kenya's democratic credentials in a continent plagued by election controversies, Kibaki denied the rigging accusations and urged Kenyans to stay calm.

"Let us all embrace peace and let fair play, honesty and democracy prevail," he said in a statement on Wednesday.

And a government spokesman accused the media of fomenting the violence by peddling propaganda. "The mobs killing people in Nyanza are doing so after ... alarmist and unsubstantiated rigging media claims," Alfred Mutua said.

BEATING

The spokesman said anti-police violence was spreading during the day: "In Nyanza, policemen are being hunted and killed ... We are shocked that people have set up road blocks and are removing people not from there from buses."

One Nyanza resident, who identified himself only as Peter, confirmed he had been among a crowd attacking officers.

"Over 20 administration police officers on civilian clothes arrived late on Tuesday in Migori on two buses. We immediately suspected them and started beating them," he told Reuters.

KTN has been running images of civilian buses taking police out of a Nairobi training college under cover of darkness.

It quoted sources saying the police were stripped of usual ID and given letters accrediting them as agents of Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) to access voting stations.

"They were issued each with 1,000 pre-marked ballot papers to be stuffed by them," said Odinga. "I've appealed to President Kibaki to prevail on his agents against election rigging acts that could plunge this country into bloodshed."

Kibaki said his government had deployed 65,000 security personnel across Kenya to ensure security. "We should desist from harassing or obstructing them," he added.

All but one of the opinion polls since September have put Odinga -- a 62-year-old businessman and former political prisoner -- a few points ahead of Kibaki, 76, in the race for stewardship of east Africa's economic powerhouse.

In 2002, Kenya experienced a rarity in African politics -- the broadly peaceful transition of power from a "Big Man" ruler, Daniel arap Moi.

Kibaki has said he will step down, and retire to his highland farm, if he loses. But analysts believe those around him might not be so willing to relinquish power.

Kibaki has been campaigning on his strong economic record of average 5 percent annual growth. He has the support of his economically powerful Kikuyu tribe, Kenya's largest.

Odinga has the ardent backing of his western Luo community, but has also garnered support from other ethnic groups who think the Kikuyus have had it too good under Kibaki.

Some 14 million of Kenya's 36 million people are eligible to vote from 6 a.m. (10 p.m. EST) to 6 p.m. (10 a.m. EST) on Thursday.

Official results are expected from Friday.

(Additional reporting by Tim Cocks; editing by Andrew Roche)