Kenyan political rivals meet to defuse tension

Kenya’s feuding leaders met on Tuesday for the first time since their public clash over the sacking of ministers brought their national unity government to the brink of collapse.

The meeting between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga was also attended by their parties’ chief whips and Parliament speaker Kenneth Marende, officials said.

“The consultations centred on a wide range of issues touching on the Grand Coalition Government,” a statement from Kibaki’s office said.

“We expect more consultation and meetings in future,” said Jakoyo Midiwo, chief whip for Odinga’s ODM grouping.

“The two principals agreed to work more closely and settle the issues that had been straining their relationship,” Midiwo told journalists, describing the meeting as cordial.

Tensions between the premier and the president boiled over earlier this month when Odinga sacked the education and agriculture ministers, embroiled in a corruption inquiry. Kibaki vetoed the move, arguing Odinga was overstepping his authority.

Kibaki made no reference to his meeting with Odinga when he addressed Parliament later on Tuesday and only alluded to the crisis when he urged lawmakers to “shun partisan politics”.

He pledged to enhance the country’s anti-corruption tools.

But he added: “In order to win this war we must apply the law in a manner that is impartial and just. We must also not politicise or personalise the fight against corruption.”

Last week a panel chaired by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan urged the two feuding leaders to meet urgently and resolve their differences swiftly to save their fragile government.

The United States also voiced deep concern over the row.

Annan brokered an accord last year after supporters of both sides clashed in the aftermath of disputed 2007 polls, leaving 1 500 people dead and a quarter of a million displaced.

Under the resulting power-sharing deal, Kibaki kept his job as president while Odinga became prime minister.—AFP