(Adds State Department on visa warnings, aid figures)

By Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - An independent investigation into post-election violence in Kenya could help prevent more bloodshed, the U.S. State Department's top diplomat for Africa said on Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer said Washington was examining how to treat those who incited the ethnic violence that has convulsed Kenya since President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election in December.

"Those options should include an impartial and independent investigation to ascertain individual responsibility, and future accountability to ensure impunity does not prevail," she said in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs Subcommittee.

Frazer did not suggest in her prepared remarks who might conduct such a probe, but added, "A strong message of accountability, delivered now, will help to deter additional violence."

Earlier in Nairobi, officials said the United States had barred 10 Kenyans suspected of being behind the violence -- which has killed more than 1,000 people and uprooted some 300,000 others -- from visiting the United States.

In Washington, however, the State Department said letters were sent to eight Kenyans suspected of supporting or inciting violence, warning they could be barred from the United States.

"We are going to continue to evaluate these cases over the next few days here to see whether in fact they ought to have their visas revoked," department spokesman Tom Casey said.

A U.S. official said the group was a mix of politicians and business people from "both major political movements," and called them "regional figures."

The violence started after a dispute over the Dec. 27 re-election of Kibaki. Opposition leader Raila Odinga says the election was stolen. The violence has laid bare divisions over land, wealth and power dating from colonial rule.

Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is leading international mediation efforts at a hotel in Nairobi where officials from both parties met on Thursday for more talks.

'NO BUSINESS AS USUAL'

Frazer, who just returned from Africa, said the United States would stay engaged to support a resolution of the crisis.

"On our part, we have made it clear that there will be 'no business as usual' with Kenya until there is a real concerted effort by both the Kenyan government and its opposition to resolve the issues that generated this tragedy," she said.

U.S. officials have said that while they are reviewing U.S. aid to Kenya, there is relatively little that could be cut because most of it is humanitarian. The United States plans to give Kenya more than $540 million in aid this year, $481 million of which will go for HIV/AIDS programs.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 405-1 on Thursday to urge President George W. Bush to restrict non-humanitarian aid to Kenya unless the parties solve the crisis peacefully.

Frazer also suggested there be a probe into electoral irregularities that preceded the violence. She said the United States did not believe an accurate recount was possible, because election documents had been lost or destroyed.

"However, an impartial investigation into the nature of electoral irregularities might help to restore the faith of the Kenyan people in the democratic process," she said. "New elections should not be considered before the ECK (the Electoral Commission of Kenya) is reformed and enjoys broad credibility."

Frazer said the United States expected Kibaki, Odinga and other political leaders to stop the violence and reach a political agreement that allows the country to move forward.

Any internationally acceptable solution should acknowledge Kenyans have the right to own land anywhere in the country regardless of their ethnicity, and ensure groups are adequately represented by government, she added. (Editing by Peter Cooney

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