NAIROBI, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - Kenya's monthly inflation rate rose to 21.8 percent in March, up from the previous month's 19.1 percent owing to rising food prices, the government announced Tuesday.

'Month-to-month overall inflation rate increased from 19.1 percent in February 2008 to 21.8 percent in March 2008,' the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said in a statement.

The bureau, which tracks Kenya's consumer price index by monitoring prices at shops in 13 towns and cities around the country, found that the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks had increased by 28.8 percent.

Violence erupted in Kenya after December 30, when President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of a bitterly contested election amid allegations of vote-rigging by then opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Attacks, fuelled by tribal and political rivalry, left at least 1,500 people dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

As a result, food prices climbed as many farmers and traders abandoned their work and fled.

A deal was reached on February 28 after weeks of mediation led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, whereby Kibaki's party and Odinga's movement evenly split the cabinet jobs.