Kenya's new cabinet stymies peace talks

Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, appointed half his cabinet minutes before an African Union mediator landed in Nairobi on Jan. 8, enraging the opposition and ending hopes of a swift end to the country's political and social crisis. Protests broke out immediately in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu and in Nairobi's slums, where hundreds of people have already been killed over a perceived stolen election. Western diplomats, who on Monday had persuaded the opposition leader Raila Odinga to call off his campaign of mass action, were angered by Kibaki's decision to fill all the key ministries as peace talks were about to begin. Jendayi Frazer, the top US diplomat for Africa, who is in Nairobi trying to encourage a power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Odinga, immediately sought an audience with the president at his State House residence to register her disapproval. "This is a complete reversal of what the government had led us to believe would happen," one western diplomat said in Nairobi last night. "The level of tension is going to be ratcheted right up instantly." Kibaki appointed 15 ministers, including finance, defense, internal security and justice, from within his own party, which won fewer than half of the seats garnered by the opposition Orange Democratic Movement in the Dec. 27 election. Kalonzo Musyoka, leader of a third, smaller opposition party, ODM-Kenya, was named vice-president and minister for home affairs, while his fellow party member Samuel Poghisio was made minister of information. The cabinet announcement was made on national television as John Kufuor, Ghana's president and head of the African Union, flew into Nairobi to try to broker a peace agreement. "I have taken into consideration the importance of keeping the country united, peaceful and prosperous under a strong, broad-based leadership," Kibaki said, reading from a brief written statement. His intention to ignore attempts at outside help had been signaled earlier in the day when a government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, told the Standard newspaper that there was "nothing to be mediated." "They [Kufuor and Kibaki] are age-mates and friends and Kufuor is coming to have a cup of tea with him," Mutua said. More than 500 people have died in violence since Kibaki was declared the winner of the election on December 30. Local and international poll observers said the presidential results were not credible because of large irregularities in the tallying of votes at election headquarters. On hearing that the cabinet would be appointed, Odinga declined an invitation from Kibaki to attend reconciliation talks on Jan. 11, saying it was a "public relations gimmick." Salim Lone, Odinga's spokesman, said: "This is simply another attempt to undermine the mission of John Kufuor. It's not only a blow to the peace process, it shows that Kibaki has no intention of even starting the process." Analysts agreed. Mutahi Ngunyi, a political scientist, said Kibaki's move was in "bad faith." "He has already concluded peace talks before they have begun," he said. UPDATE Kenya president says no recount, or vote President Mwai Kibaki, addressing countrymen who had to flee blazing homes and rampaging mobs armed with machetes and arrows in Kenya's seething political turmoil, defiantly rejected demands on Jan. 9 for a new election or vote recount. Violence set off by opposition claims that Kibaki stole the Dec. 27 presidential election raged on, causing a new exodus of refugees, and there was little sign of softening by the president or his chief rival, Raila Odinga. More than 500 people have died in violence that in some areas pits other tribes against Kibaki's Kikuyu, the dominant people in politics and business in this East African nation. The vote "is finished and anybody who thinks they can turn it around should know that it's not possible and it will never be possible," Kibaki told a crowd in the western town of Burnt Forest, his first trip to a trouble spot since bloodshed erupted two days after the disputed ballot. Speaking in Swahili, his tone was much sharper than in his official statements to the press, in which he focused on dialogue and harmony. He repeated his call for any allegations of election fixing to be settled in court. Kenya's high court is filled with Kibaki appointees. Kibaki urged the thousands of refugees camped at a school in Burnt Forest not to abandon their land. "Do not be afraid. The government will protect you," he said. "Nobody is going to be chased from where they live." But that already has happened to an estimated 255,000 Kenyans. On the road to Nairobi, the capital, dozens of angry youths brandishing sticks burned tires to block the route. "If elections fail, violence prevails!" they shouted. (AP)