A second Kenyan opposition legislator was shot dead yesterday, overshadowing the resumption of negotiations between the country?s feuding politicians after more than a month of bloodletting.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) member of parliament David Kimutai Too was killed, along with an unidentified woman, in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, the party said.

?He has been shot dead, by a traffic policeman in Eldoret, we think. The circumstances are very unclear. This crisis is just getting deeper every day,? said ODM spokesman Tony Gachoka. The hospital where Too?s body had been taken was quickly jammed with people trying to find out what happened.

Earlier this week, another opposition legislator Melitus Were was gunned down outside the gate of his Nairobi home, in a murder that triggered rioting and ethnic killings. ODM said Were?s killing was a ?political assassination?, although police said they were treating it as ?murder?.

President Mwai Kibaki flew to Ethiopia yesterday for an summit of the 53-nation African Union, likely to be dominated by the violence gripping his country which was triggered by his disputed re-election last month.

In Nairobi, government and opposition teams met for a second day of talks led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, backed by an international community alarmed at the continuing killing.

Political and ethnic violence has killed 850 people in Kenya since the December 27 election. The instability has shocked its neighbours and Western donors, and battered Kenya?s image as a stable trade and tourism hub.

Many Kenyans fear what will happen if Annan?s mediation fails to strike a deal between Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga, the ODM leader who says vote-rigging stole his victory.

The violence has taken the lid off decades-old divisions between communities over land, wealth and power dating from British colonial rule, which have been stoked by Kenyan politicians during 44 years of independence. Annan launched formal mediation between the government and ODM on Tuesday, each side represented by a team of three ? both a mix of moderates and hardliners.

Kibaki, 76, says he is the legally elected president, but is open to sharing power. Odinga, 63, says he was robbed by fraud during the vote count and wants Kibaki to stand down or allow a new election after a period of power-sharing. Kenya?s unrest may have been triggered by an election dispute but the tinder for ethnic conflict was there and has burned before at elections in 1992 and 1997.

Members of Kibaki?s Kikuyu tribe were the first to be attacked, and are now seeking revenge on Luos, Luhyas and Kalenjins who largely back Odinga in what many fear will turn into tit-for-tat attacks.

After a month of bloodshed, the Kenyan government vowed to adopt a tougher approach to contain the conflicts.