U.S. bans 10 over violence in Kenya

By Wangui Kanina

The move came as pressure mounted on Kenya's feuding parties to resolve a crisis triggered by the December 27 polls that has killed more than 1,000 people and uprooted some 300,000 others.

U.S. Embassy officials in Nairobi said five of those banned were politicians while the rest were prominent business people, but declined to give further details.

"There is a precedent for even a head of state and their families to face bans," one Western diplomat said, referring to a European ban on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.

Canada's envoy in Kenya has publicly threatened to ban politicians guilty of stoking tribal violence, and diplomatic sources say Britain may do likewise.

TALKS

Having agreed on principles to stem violence and help refugees, negotiators are now stuck on the original bone of contention -- who won the December vote.

U.N. security staff were sweeping Annan's accommodation regularly, a spokesman said.

The opposition, which accuses Kibaki's team of rigging the vote, had threatened to hold more street protests over the meetings. They say Kibaki is seeking to legitimise his position "through the back door" by playing host.

Beyond the ballot, the crisis has laid bare divisions over land, wealth and power that date from colonial rule and have since been stoked by politicians, particularly at election time.

Also expected in Kenya on Friday for a three-day visit is the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes.

CARE International said maize prices had shot up by around 50 percent in Nairobi and by up to 300 percent in slums in the western town of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold.

(For special coverage from Reuters on Kenya's crisis see: http ://africa.reuters.com/elections/kenya/)

(Writing by Daniel Wallis, editing by Andrew Cawthorne)