UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon plans to visit Kenya tomorrow to support efforts to end a crisis that has killed more than 850 people.
UN sources said Mr Ban, who is in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for an African Union summit, would support efforts by predecessor Kofi Annan, who is trying to mediate an end to the month-long crisis.
Mr Ban earlier warned the summit that there could be a catastrophe in Kenya if the violence did not end.
The head of the African Union told the continent's leaders today at the opening of the three-day summit that Africa is facing a genocide in Kenya and must make resolving the crisis a priority.
"Kenya is a country that was a hope for the continent," African Union chairman Alpha Konare said. "Today, if you look at Kenya, you see violence on the streets. We are even talking about ethnic cleansing, We are even talking about genocide. We cannot sit with our hands folded."
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki attended the summit despite calls from the opposition that he not be recognised as Kenya's official leader. International diplomats had suggested his time might be better served by staying at home to continue talks with Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga.
Kenyan opposition legislator David Kimutai Too was shot dead today in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret. An ODM spokesman said Mr Too was shot by a policeman.
He was the second member of parliament for the ODM killed this week.
Earlier this week, another opposition legislator Melitus Were was fatally shot outside the gate of his Nairobi home, in a murder that triggered rioting and ethnic killings. ODM said Mr Were's killing was a political assassination, although police said they were treating it as murder.