Kenyan PM, deputy to face off in presidential poll

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced Saturday that he will run for president next year, when he will face off against his deputy, who has been charged with crimes against humanity in deadly violence that followed 2007 polls. Odinga, 67, and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, 51, were both key players in a presidential polling crisis five years ago that tarnished Kenya's reputation of stability. Odinga and Kenyatta were named as the official candidates of their political groups in the March 4 election -- the Coalition of Reform and Democracy (CORD) for Odinga and the Jubilee Coalition for Kenyatta. "I commit myself to the people of Kenya and CORD by accepting the nomination to be its presidential flag-bearer," said Odinga, who lost to current incumbent Mwai Kibaki in the December 2007 vote. Kenyatta supported Kibaki. The International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, has charged Kenyatta, the son of Kenyan founding father Jomo Kenyatta, over his alleged role in the unrest, in which at least 1,100 people were killed and more than 600,000 were displaced. "I will never let you down," Uhuru Kenyatta said at a rally in Mombasa, on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka initially planned to run for the country's top job, but said Saturday that he had shelved his "personal presidential ambitions in favour of Prime Minister Raila Odinga." The violence came after Odinga, who was then the opposition leader, accused Kibaki of rigging his re-election. Political riots quickly degenerated into ethnic killings. Under international pressure, Odinga was eventually named prime minister in a large coalition government. The violence was Kenya's worst since independence in 1963, and the ICC accused several officials of playing a role. Ultimately, four people were charged, including Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto, who will be Kenyatta's running mate. Their trial at the ICC is due to start April 10 and will clash with the second round of the presidential elections. Prosecutors say Kenyatta mobilised a criminal gang known as the Mungiki to attack Odinga supporters. Kenyatta, 51, faces five charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, persecution, deportation and other inhumane acts. Ruto faces three charges of crimes against humanity. Both have claimed their innocence and have promised to cooperate with the ICC. Kenyatta resigned as finance minister in January when the ICC ruled he should stand trial. About 14 million voters are registered for the presidential election in the country of some 40 million. Tensions are high and -- whether tied to the poll or not -- there has been an increase in bomb blasts and other attacks. A tribal attack Friday in a remote village in the country's southeast claimed 45 lives. Though the motive for the attack was not known, some suggested a link to a disarmament campaign in the area, or to the March presidential polls.