Kenya's chief prosecutor says police are beginning an investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko told VOA the allegations made by member of parliament, — ODM Whip Jakoyo Midiwo — are “very serious” and pledged to carry out justice if they found to be true.

“In the event there is actionable evidence to support the allegation that there is one or any other person alleged to have been implicated, the full force of the law will be applied irrespective of the official status of the person involved.”

The member of parliament alleged Saturday that the plot involved foreigners as well as Kenyan government officials.

The prosecutor Tobiko says politicians must be careful about what they say, adding that a false accusation would not help the country.

“I hope that the honorable member of parliament, when he speaks about these very extremely grave allegations, that he has evidence to support the allegations. We cannot afford in this country to entertain reckless utterances.”

Kenya is preparing for national elections set for March of next year. The vote will be the first since a wave of violence erupted across the country following a disputed 2007 presidential election. The unrest killed 1,300 people and displaced more than 300,000 others.

Tobiko says Kenya cannot repeat that “very sad episode” in its history.

“I am extremely concerned that at this time in this age and this period in our history — we are just about to start preparations for the next general elections — the memories and the wounds, and for my part here in my office we are not yet through with the episode of 2007 and 2008, and we can ill afford as a country a repeat of what happened.”

He says Kenyans need to accommodate different political opinions and affiliations and that the rule of law must be equally applied to everyone.

Mr. Odinga challenged President Mwai Kibaki in the 2007 election. The unrest that followed did not fully stop until the leaders reached a power-sharing deal that made Mr. Kibaki president and Mr. Odinga prime minister.