A Block-by-Block Bid for Peace

At that point, Kibera had been on fire for weeks, with gangs of Luos burning down Kikuyu kiosks and businesses and Kikuyus taking their revenge.

Then came the murder of opposition legislator Mugabe Were, and Kibera sank to its lowest point since the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election, with the rival sides literally facing off along their common borders.

"It was very dangerous," said Osodo, who nonetheless left his cafe and walked across a short concrete bridge over an open sewer into his friend's quarter, known as Laini Saba. Mobs taunted him. He responded: "If you kill me, there is nothing you can gain,' " he said.

Kyalo was in his house when he heard the shouts outside -- "Luo! Luo! Luo!" -- and opened the door.

"Can you imagine?" Kyalo said, still incredulous at seeing his friend on such a day. "There were people yelling at me, 'You're a traitor!' and I said, 'No, this is my friend for a long time.' And they said, 'This is not a time for friends.' "

Kyalo ushered Osodo inside. There the visitor suggested they call a meeting of local leaders from the two sides and that he and Kyalo should walk together through both areas in a show of unity.

"I had to trust him," Kyalo said. "He told me he could not protect me from the mobs, but that he would try to talk to them. I just took courage by the fact that he came to this side."

Amid flailing machetes and heckling, the two men walked through Laini Saba and into Osodo's area, Mashimoni, where they tried to find a place for the meeting. They inquired at a church, which flatly denied them. They went to the owner of a maternity clinic, who also refused. So they appealed directly to the clinic's caretaker, Frederick Nandie, who risked losing his job and possibly his life if he agreed.

"I saw the sacrifice of these two men coming here," Nandie said. "And I had to put my fear aside."

At 2 p.m. the next day, the two and 24 other community leaders convened around an unpainted wood table with blue plastic chairs, gangs from their respective neighborhoods rowdy with machetes and clubs just outside, ready to resume the bloodletting if things went badly.

"It was very tense," said Peter Nduva, who took minutes during the meeting. "People were out there with their weapons. It was no joke."

Like a shadow Kofi Annan, Kyalo acted as the mediator. He began the meeting by asking Osodo, on behalf of the Luo community, and the senior Kikuyu leader present to apologize to each other.