Kenya awaits new government
2005-12-07 14:22
Nairobi - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki appeared set on Wednesday to name a new government to replace the cabinet he fired en masse last month after the embarrassing rejection of a new constitution he backed.
As the clocked ticked down on a December 7 deadline Kibaki gave himself to appoint a new slate of ministers, Kenya's media was awash in furious speculation about the line-up, reporting last-minute hitches and intrigue.
The expected announcement was hoped to bring an end to a two-week crisis of authority in the east African nation that was thrown into political limbo after the draft charter was voted down in a November 21 referendum.
The rejection of the charter was a blow to Kibaki who had urged its adoption, and was seen by his foes and many observers as a vote of no confidence in the lacklustre performance of his nearly three-year-old administration.
Govt of national unity
Leading dailies said the president had planned to name a government of national unity on Tuesday, but was forced to call it off after some opposition MPs refused to accept posts in the new cabinet.
The reports drew a blistering response from Kibaki's office, which categorically denied the accounts in a brief statement under the heading "Avoid Lies".
Alfred Mutua of the government said: "Kenyans should expect that the president will name the cabinet when he is ready."
He said: "It's still a long day to go", admitting that Wednesday was the deadline for the appointments.
On November 23, a day after conceding defeat in the vote, Kibaki sacked his deeply divided cabinet - an unprecedented move for a Kenyan leader - and said he would chose a new team within two weeks.
Political authority
He indefinitely suspended the scheduled late November re-opening of parliament, a bid to re-assert his political authority.
But, Kibaki rejected opposition demands for him to dissolve parliament and called snap polls ahead of the next general elections set for 2007 and banned rallies it had planned to press its case.
Last week, the opposition dropped its call for early elections and instead urged the president to recall parliament next month to begin work on drafting a new constitution that would be more acceptable to the public.
Opponents of the draft, including dissident ministers in the former cabinet, had fought against its adoption as it retained near absolute powers in the office of the president and defied popular demands for significant authority to be devolved to a prime minister.