9 April 2008
Kampala — Kenya's opposition party suspended talks with the government Tuesday and hundreds of angry young opposition backers set fires to protest delays in reaching a power-sharing deal.
Police fired teargas to scatter opposition supporters.
President Mwai Kibaki and his rival Raila Odinga delayed naming the new cabinet on Monday after disagreeing over how to share out ministries and traded blame over who was responsible.
The cabinet is central to a deal on ending Kenya's post-election crisis.
Mr Anyang' Nyong'o, secretary-general of Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), said talks would be suspended until Kibaki's party "fully recognises the 50/50 power-sharing arrangement and the principle of portfolio balance."
As he spoke, Nairobi's sprawling Kibera slum was convulsed by the biggest protests since both sides signed a power-sharing deal in February to end turmoil that killed at least 1,500 people after Mr Kibaki's disputed re-election in December.
Residents said youths looted shops and burned tyres. Some ripped up railway lines connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa, the region's largest, with Uganda. This means prices of goods are likely to increase in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi Esatern DRc and Sudan, since the effect of chaos in Kenya is directly felt in the region.
"Police are firing teargas and also firing in the air," said witness Justine Mokua.
Protests spread to the western opposition stronghold of Kisumu, where police closed in on angry crowds. "They're saying 'No cabinet, no peace'," one witness said by telephone.
"These politics can do real harm to our economy," said Friday Mwafuga, head of trading at the Cooperative Bank.
"Until this problem is solved, we are in for a rough ride ahead." The European Union warned yesterday it would only support a meaningful power-sharing between Kibaki's PNU and ODM. The announcement came as Canada suspended its assistance to the government until the National Accord and Reconciliation Act is fully implemented.
Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya Ross Hynes said the delay in naming the new cabinet had now forced the North American country to reassess its assistance and cooperation with the country.
"The international community have all indicated that there is ability to move forward and work with Kenya but this depends on the implementation of the negotiated agreements," said Mr Hynes.
He challenged President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to listen to the voices of the majority instead of the few cronies who are interested in holding the country at ransom. He warned the leaders against using the cabinet slots to share the spoils in the country but that the decisions so made should focus on relieving Kenyans out of their suffering.
"President Kibaki and Mr Odinga hold the key to unlocking the impasse but they have so far failed the test. It is obviously a critical test of the commitment and ability to fulfill promises they made to Kenyans and to ensure a lasting solution," said the envoy.
And government coalition MPs yesterday supported the dissolution of the current Cabinet to pave way for the formation of a lean grand coalition government.
The MPs, who held a four-hour group meeting, also called on the ODM team to drop pre-conditions that were standing in the way of the formation of the Cabinet.
According to Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka who chaired the meeting, the MPs had also resolved to support President Kibaki in all his decisions, adding that the head of state was under no pressure with regard to the formation of the Cabinet.
"Even if the President decides to dissolve Parliament today, the PG will stand by him," said Mr Musyoka. The VP also asked the President to take charge and act in accordance with the powers vested upon him by the Constitution to break the Cabinet deadlock.
He also said that the meeting supported President Kibaki's Monday evening statement, which was in favour of a quick resolution of the Cabinet crisis. The meeting was attended by most of the pro-government MPs, but notably absent were Internal Security minister George Saitoti and his Roads counterpart John Michuki.
The move by pro-government MPs to support a lean Cabinet seemed to re-ignite the dilemma of numbers which had earlier served to stall the formation of the grand coalition Cabinet.
The government coalition had earlier indicated its support for a 44-member Cabinet which was later reduced to 40 after President Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga met last week. At the time Mr Odinga's ODM team was in favour of a 36-member Cabinet, up from their previous number of 34.
Even before the VP briefed the media about the meeting, two MPs had already given indications that the Government MPs were in favour of a 20-member Cabinet. Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi, while walking out of the meeting, said the MPs would respect the President's decision on the number of Cabinet ministers.
Kangundo MP and deputy chief whip Johnston Muthama said they were in favour of a leaner Cabinet since this has been the message sent out by Kenyans. At the same time, the Government MPs also said that the civil service should not be politicised.
The VP defended the Head of Public Service, Mr Francis Muthaura, saying he had always acted in accordance with the President's directive. Kenya, East Africa's biggest economy and an important regional trade, transport and tourism hub, suffered heavily from the post-election riots and ethnic violence -- the worst turmoil since independence in 1963.
But some analysts believe that while Odinga's party is clearly stepping up the pressure to get what it wants, it has little room for manoeuvre. "They can accept the offices offered, withdraw from the coalition or resort to mass action," said Kenyan political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi.
If they withdrew that would hand all power back to President Kibaki, he said, but "mass action does not make sense at this time" because of the bloodshed it provoked in January. Most of the recent disagreement centres on a handful of ministries that Mr Odinga, the prime minister-designate, says Kibaki's PNU had promised to give up.
PNU denies that, and Mr Kibaki said on Monday he was ready to conclude the process of forming the cabinet as soon as possible. One post not in dispute is finance, which means current Finance Minister Amos Kimunya is almost certain to keep his job.
Mr Duncan Kimani, a senior currency trader at Bank of Africa Kenya hoped the dispute would not degenerate further. "Already the country has suffered enough in terms of tourism and the supply chain being cut off," he told Reuters. "So a prolonged deadlock would mean that even the 4 or 5 per cent growth target we're looking at might not be achievable."
Mr Wangui Mbatia, who works with families displaced by the post-election bloodshed, said many Kenyans feared both sides were most focused on taking control of lucrative portfolios.
"If there is a corruption-free government it shouldn't matter who has what," she said.
Reported by Oliver Mathenge, Odhiambo Orlale, Jeff Otieno, Walter Menya and Reuters
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