A Massacre in a Kenyan Church

The violence that has rocked Kenya since its controversial presidential election last week reached a horrific level on Tuesday when 50 people, including women and children, were burned alive in a church in the country's west after they had sought sanctuary there from a mob infuriated over the allegedly stolen vote. The victims in the city of Eldoret were from the Kikuyu tribe, which make up about 22% of the country and backed President Mwai Kibaki's bid for a second term. Kibaki had claimed victory with a little over 200,000 after several suspicious moves appeared to erase his rival's huge lead in the count.

Post-election violence has now killed at least 250 and forced some 70,000 people to flee their homes in the days since the vote which has now been recognized by the European Union and the United States as seriously flawed. His opponent, Raila Odinga, has refused to recognize the results; he has the support of the Luo tribe, which makes up about 13% of the country, as well as several smaller tribes. There are now fears that Kenya, a famous tourist destination with a booming economy, is teetering on almost total collapse, and the possibility of genocidal war between Kikuyus and their allies on one side and the Luo-affiliated tribes, who supported Odinga. "We never expected the savagery to go so far," police spokesman Eric Kiraithe said in Nairobi.

People reached by phone in Eldoret said they were cowering behind locked doors in their homes, terrified of going out on the streets. It was unclear whether the killings would lead to wider clashes. Eldoret saw massive violence in elections in 1992 and 1997 as well. "We cannot move out of the house," said Elijah Ombiru, a father of four in the city. "People are being killed everywhere and the situation is very, very worse."

Analysts and U.N. officials saw echoes of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, when churches were turned into slaughterhouses for some of the 800,000 moderate Hutu and Tutsi victims. "Maybe in Burundi or Rwanda, but I never thought this could happen in Kenya," one U.N. official said.

More trouble is looming. Odinga has appealed for a million of his supporters to join him on Thursday in downtown Nairobi to inaugurate him as the "people's president." Kibaki's government came out Tuesday to say the rally would not be allowed to take place, but Odinga's supporters appeared to be in no mood to compromise.

Odinga supporters in Nairobi's enormous slum district Kibera said that if Odinga called them out, they will come, no matter what the police say. The supporters told TIME that they believe Odinga is the legitimately elected leader of the country, and that the only solution is for Kibaki to step down. "We have been patient. We have lowered our tempers down a bit because we want to get directives from our leaders," says Morris Otieno, 45. "If they say 'Let us go to town, we will go peacfully. If police are going to interfere, you can expect what will happen — hell will break loose."

Odinga's supporters can point to evidence to back up their anger. On Tuesday, the European Union came out with a final assessment that said the elections "were marred by a lack of transparency in the processing and tallying of presidential results, which raises concerns about the accuracy of the final results." Perhaps even more damaging, five members of Kenya's Electoral Commission — which Kibaki had packed with loyalists in the last year — have come forward to demand an inquiry into the vote.

Kibera, the hotbed of anti-Kibaki fury, was otherwise calm on Tuesday, as the capital seemed to be taking a deep breath on New Year's Day. People who had stayed behind closed doors for days finally emerged in search of food at markets that were opening at last. Residents picked through the ashes of a massive outdoor market that had been burned to the ground. Some tied string around the empty plots that were once their stalls; in one, the only recognizable remnants were a stack of charred and smoldering onions.

In the depths of Kibera, where few outsiders dare to visit, charred barricades of trash and tires still litter the streets, and wrecks of cars now block the railroad tracks made famous in The Constant Gardener, the Ralph Fiennes movie that was filmed there in 2004. The damage to the area has been so bad that it is impossible to find water to drink or even a bottle of Coca Cola to purchase. Despite their support of Odinga, some residents wonder whether their rage had been worthwhile.

"The houses are torched, the kiosks have been torched, but what have we gained with it?" says Yusuf Ibrahim, 24, who has lived in the slum all his life. "We've gained nothing. Where is Mwai Kibaki, where is Raila to come here and do what's necessary? We are still the same people who are here, we are the ones who are suffering. There are food shortages, our bellies are hungry. Where are the politicians?"

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Gangs of young men armed with machetes are roaming the streets in Kenya as post-election violence threatens to engulf the country. Horrific attacks are being reported, including the torching of a church where people who had sought refuge were burned alive.

At least 148 people have been killed and about 75,000 have fled their homes since President Mwai Kibaki won a narrow victory, according to Kenyan government officials. The Associated Press reported a higher number -- about 275 -- have died since Saturday.

Much of the violence is between supporters of Kibaki from the majority Kikuyu tribe and backers of opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is from the Luo tribe.

The ethnic violence, previously rare in Kenya, is reminiscent of the strife that led to the Rwanda genocide.

In a particularly disturbing incident, a mob appears to have burned a church filled with Kenyans seeking refuge from the violence.

The Red Cross told The Associated Press that at least 50 were burned to death at the church, some of them children.

As many as 200 people were at the church, about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi, KTN reporter Tony Biwott told CNN.

Biwott said he counted at least 15 charred bodies, including children, in the burned church and an adjacent field.

"I'm sure there were more than 15 but I couldn't count the ones who were ashes," he said in a phone interview.

The wounded sustained gunshot wounds, burns and cuts from a panga, a machete-like weapon, the Red Cross said.

The national police commissioner has said in Kenyan society, churches are considered sacred and no one would expect such violence there.

He said an investigation into the incident is under way.

About 120 people are reported dead and over 1,000 injured countrywide, according to The Red Cross.

Police and political backers of opposition leader Raila Odinga began clashing about four days ago as Odinga, of the Luo tribe, narrowly lost Kenya's presidential election to Mwai Kibaki.

Kibaki is a member of Kikuyu, Kenya's largest tribe.

Violence broke out in several cities as frustration mounted during the slow hand-count of the ballots. Kibaki was re-elected with 51.3 percent of the vote, to 48.7 percent for Odinga.

"What we now witness is a cold and calculated plan to organize and engage in massacres," government spokesman Alfred Mutua said.

Bringing in the New Year, Kibaki -- who rarely speaks to the press -- urged calm to the nation.

"It now is a time for healing and reconciliation amongst all Kenyans," he said.

Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said the government is committed to taking control.

"If the tear gas doesn't work then unfortunately they have to use live bullets," he told CNN. "The president has been sworn in, the elections are over, the Kenyans have to accept the results, the opposition has to accept the results."

Tuesday, international observers said the balloting fell short of international standards for democratic elections.

Alexander Lambsdorff, the head of the EU Election Observation Mission in Kenya, cited discrepancies in vote counts, election observers being turned away from polling places and observers being refused entrance to the electoral commission vote-counting room.

The violence also has displaced some 75,000 Kenyans inside the country, Mutua said.

The government said Tuesday it will not allow any political rallies in the aftermath of the controversial election outcome.

Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement had scheduled rallies for Tuesday, raising fears of more violence.

Mutua said there was no intention to impose a state of emergency or curfew at this point, and said police are handling the violence well and with "extreme restraint."

However, he warned that police restraint would not last forever. The violence is rare for Kenya, which has enjoyed relative calm even as war and chronic political violence wracked neighboring countries, such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda.

The United States has withheld congratulations for Kibaki, citing concerns of voting problems, even though Kibaki has claimed victory.