VOA标准英语2008年-30 Killed in Kenyan Church as Post-Election Vio

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
01 January 2008

A mob set fire to a church in western Kenya Tuesday, killing¹ about 30 people inside who were seeking refuge from widespread post-election violence. Witnesses say the fire was set by a gang of young men who poured fuel on the structure before setting it ablaze². Nick Wadhams has the story from our Nairobi bureau.

The church attack occurred in the western city of Eldoret, where some of the worst violence has occurred in the days since incumbent³ President Mwai Kibaki won a second term in an election that has been declared seriously flawed.

Police says most of the victims of the fire were from the Kikuyu tribe, who tended to back President Kibaki during the election - making them targets for attacks by supporters of opposition⁴ candidate Raila Odinga, whose followers⁵ are mostly ethnic⁶ Luo.

The attack and violence in recent days has left about 275 people dead and sparked fears of a wider ethnic conflict in Kenya as Luos press their demand for Kibaki to give up his seat. The city of Eldoret, where the church was set on fire, has seen intense clashes that killed hundreds of people in previous elections, but those flare-ups did not lead to widespread conflict elsewhere.

The violence in Eldoret came soon after the European Union issued a report saying it had serious doubts about the vote-counting process and the chairman of the electoral commission, Samuel Kivuitu.

At a press conference, EU mission chief Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said he thought the parliamentary elections were genuine, but not the vote for president.

"We continue to have doubts regarding the presidential elections," he said. "We see question marks and have to have doubts about this due to the lack of transparency. I would have to say that I include the chairman when I say that we have doubts about the results announced by the ECK [Election Commission of Kenya], simply because he is part of and in fact leader of the ECK, and if we doubt the results it would not be fair to exclude any of the ones responsible."

While Nairobi maintained an uneasy calm, Kenyans were waiting fearfully for Thursday, when Odinga has called for a million people to come into downtown Nairobi to declare him the people's president.

Odinga told reporters that he believed President Kibaki was part of the old way of Africa and must be removed.

"I am only pained by what is happening, and I will say that President Kibaki represents the old leadership, that old dictatorial⁷ leadership that is on its way out of Africa," he said. "So I will say that he is part of the endangered species of leadership that belongs to the museum."

Mr. Kibaki said all political parties should meet and call for calm, but Odinga has said he will not negotiate or meet with President Kibaki until the president cedes⁸ power to him.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 ablaze   

adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的

参考例句：

• The main street was ablaze with lights in the evening.晚上，那条主要街道灯火辉煌。
• Forests are sometimes set ablaze by lightning.森林有时因雷击而起火。

3 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 dictatorial   

adj. 独裁的，专断的

参考例句：

• Her father is very dictatorial.她父亲很专横。
• For years the nation had been under the heel of a dictatorial regime.多年来这个国家一直在独裁政权的铁蹄下。

8 cedes   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• MILWAUKEE, Feb. 29, 2008? Rockwell Automation will acquire the Safety and Automation business of CEDES AG. 密尔沃基2月29日消息——罗克韦尔自动化将收购CEDES公司的安全和自动化业务。 来自互联网
• Any system that cedes those rights will lead to anarchy. 任何割让那些权利的体制都将导致政治混乱。 来自互联网