At least 15 people were killed in attacks by machete-wielding gangs this morning as Kenyans queued to vote in a presidential election they hope will rebuild the country's image after a disputed 2007 poll unleashed weeks of tribal bloodshed.
A few hours before the 6am (3am Irish time) start of voting and with long queues across the nation, at least nine security officers in Kenya's restive coastal region were hacked to death, and six attackers were also killed, a regional police chief Aggrey Adoli said.
The total toll had earlier been put at 17. There were two separate attacks and senior police officers blamed one of them on a separatist movement - which, if confirmed, would suggest different motives to those that caused the post-2007 vote ethnic killings and could limit their impact.
Officials and candidates have made impassioned appeals to avoid a repeat of the tribal rampages that erupted five years ago when disputes over the poll result fuelled clashes between tribal loyalists of rival candidates.
More than 1,200 people were killed, shattering Kenya's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies and bringing its economy to a standstill.
As in 2007, the race has come down to a high-stakes head-to-head between two candidates, this time between prime minister Raila Odinga and deputy prime minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
Both will depend heavily on votes from tribal loyalists. One of the machete attacks today took place outside Mombasa and another in Kilifi about 50km to the north. Senior police officers blamed the one near Mombasa on a separatist movement, the Mombasa Republican Council, which had sought and failed to have the national vote scrapped and a referendum on secession instead.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility and it was not possible to independently identify the attackers. Even before the violence, many Kenyans were wary, particularly in places where it erupted last time.
Shopkeepers have run down stocks and some people in mixed tribal areas have returned to their homelands elsewhere.
Bernard Otundo (36) queuing quietly in Nairobi in the early morning darkness, said he expected a peaceful vote.
"Some of us have been here as early as 2am this morning. I got here slightly after 3am," he said.
"There have been a lot of awareness campaigns against violence and I don't think it will happen this time around, whatever the outcome."
Kenya's neighbours are watching nervously, after their economies felt the shockwaves when violence five years ago shut down trade routes running through east Africa's biggest economy.
Some landlocked states have stockpiled fuel and other materials.
Reuters