14 April 2008
Nairobi — The naming of the coalition Cabinet is a turning point for a scarred nation and could be the end of the torturous path travelled since the divisive elections.
Kenyans had been waiting for the sealing of the power-sharing deal President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed.
With the Cabinet in place, focus is expected to shift to the resettlement of displaced people. They are victims of the violence the December 27 election sparked.
ODM disputed the outcome, claiming Kibaki's victory was stolen.
The violence left more than 1,000 people dead and 500,000 others uprooted from their homes.
Some observers said the tallying of the presidential vote was "deeply flawed", and the Electoral Commission of Kenya came under fire for bungling the exercise.
The international community warned that it would not be "business as usual" with the Government unless peace was restored.
Key international figures made peace forays. Then African Union chairman, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, and South Africa's Nobel laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu ,were the first to arrive.
Kibaki named half of the Cabinet, which ODM wanted disbanded.
With pressure piling on the warring parties to move to the negotiation table, talks mediated by the Panel of Eminent Africans, headed by former UN Secretary-General, Dr Kofi Annan, began on January 29.
Other members were South African former First Lady, Mrs Graca Machel, and former Tanzania President Benjamin Mkapa.
The Government negotiating team comprised Cabinet ministers, Ms Martha Karua, Prof Sam Ongeri, Mr Moses Wetang'ula and Mr Mutula Kilonzo.
Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, and ministers, Mr William Ruto, Dr Sally Kosgei and Mr James Orengo represented ODM.
After a month of intense and often acrimonious negotiations, Annan brokered the peace deal on February 28, whose signing was broadcast live in the international media.
The feuding parties often adopted hard-line positions, dragging the talks.
The crunch came when frustrated Annan sidestepped the negotiators to talk directly with Kibaki and Raila.
US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, arrived mid-February for a one-day shuttle diplomacy.
AU chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete arrived to boost the talks and after long meetings the Annan team and the two principals reached a deal.
Parliament then passed the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) and the National Accord and Reconciliation Bills to legalise the agreement and pave way for a coalition Government.
But even then, Kenyans were treated to more theatrics, as PNU and ODM haggled on the Cabinet size and seats' distribution.
As anxiety deepened and violence threatened to erupt afresh, the leaders finally reached an agreement on Saturday.
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