ELDORET, Kenya 31 Jan - A second Kenyan opposition legislator was shot dead on Thursday, overshadowing the resumption of negotiations between the country's feuding politicians after more than a month of violence.

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) member of parliament David Kimutai Too was killed in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret, the party said. An unidentified woman was also critically wounded.

Police commissioner Hussein Ali said Too's murder was a "crime of passion" and that the traffic police officer responsible had been arrested.

But ODM leader Raila Odinga said it was a political act.

"David Kimutai Too was killed by a policeman. I condemn this second execution of an ODM member of parliament. The purpose of this killing is to reduce the ODM majority," he said.

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

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.

Shops shut down in Eldoret after the killing and some residents began to leave town. Around 200 people gathered outside the police station demanding the traffic officer responsible be handed over.