Kenya mostly calm after key vote ruling

Kenyan police yesterday clashed with a few dozen protesters angry at a court's confirmation of Uhuru Kenyatta as president-elect, but the unrest was minor compared with the nationwide bloodshed after the last disputed election.
There was little sign of violence beyond Kisumu, a city in the west of Kenya where there is strong backing for Prime Minister Raila Odinga, loser in the presidential election. Kisumu and other regions were devastated by deadly riots after the vote in 2007.
Even in Kisumu, where two people were killed by gunfire and shops were looted on Saturday after the Supreme Court declared Kenyatta had won in a fair race, most areas had cooled down yesterday and the latest trouble was limited to the outskirts.
Many Kenyans had said they were determined to avoid a repeat of the violence five years ago that killed more than 1,200 people and hammered east Africa's biggest economy.
Kenyans said the calmer atmosphere this time was in part because of far greater trust in the reformed judiciary that ruled on the disputed March 4 vote, and also because Odinga was swift to fully accept the verdict despite his disappointment.