(recasts with Kibaki speech) By Tim Cocks BURNT FOREST, Kenya, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki vowed on Wednesday to punish politicians accused of inciting attacks after his disputed election win during a visit to one of the areas worst hit by the clashes. Drawing loud cheers from thousands shortly after landing by helicopter in western Kenyan Burnt Forest area, Kibaki pledged aid to help the homeless rebuild their lives. Aid agencies say more than a quarter of a million Kenyans have been forced to abandon their homes after days of attacks by mobs on the rampage. Houses have been burnt and crops destroyed. Many residents in the lush Rift Valley -- where a mob torched a church and killed 30 people sheltering inside last week -- accuse opposition politicians of fanning the violence. "The politicians inciting people to commit violence -- don't worry, the government will arrest them and charge them in court. They know who they are," said Kibaki, standing on a makeshift stage decked out in the red, green and black of Kenya's flag. The opposition have accused Kibaki's camp of also stoking violence. It was the president's first public foray since rioting erupted in opposition strongholds across the east African country over the result of the Dec. 27 vote, which opposition rival, Raila Odinga, says was rigged. "HOME? WHICH HOME?" The worst attacks have taken place in the ethnically-mixed Rift Valley, northwest of Nairobi, where gangs of youths have targeted Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe, killings scores of his kinsmen and burning hundreds of homes. More than 200 of the national death toll of some 500 people have died in the Rift Valley. Many of the displaced see little hope of going home soon -- as few have anything to go back to. Some blame the government. "What we want is security," said trader John Miruri, whose shop was burned by a gang and who said he had mixed feelings about Kibaki's appearance. "The government failed to protect us from these thugs." Many fleeing the fighting have no idea when they will be able to restart their lives, even if security does return. Scores of businesses have been burned. Aid agencies say they have the skills to start again but building gutted homes from scratch is a daunting task for a largely settled, mercantile people. "We will give assistance. The government will take care of you," Kibaki promised. "You will get aid to resettle, to build new houses and we will give you new farming tools." Residents fear more trouble after Kibaki announced half his cabinet on Tuesday in what Odinga's supporters say was a provocation. Jackson Kimathi sneered bitterly when asked when he might go home -- he currently sleeps on a patch of grass. ""Home? Which home, exactly? Would you like to show me where is my home? It doesn't exist -- everything has been destroyed." Many of the refugees shelter in churches; others, in police stations. But most have gathered in fields where a few makeshift plastic sheet tents dot the landscape. They sit surrounded by their belongings and brave the cold nights. Some are still trying to find the bodies of loved ones killed in the attacks. (Editing by Katie Nguyen and Elizabeth Piper)
People talk as they cross a street in Nairobi January 9, 2008. Far from the burning slums of Nairobi and ethnic massacres in the Rift Valley, many Kenyans are watching in ...
