Kenyan leaders break deadlock
2008-04-12 21:11
Nairobi - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki
and opposition leader Raila Odinga struck a deal on a
power-sharing cabinet on Saturday after secret one-on-one talks
to end a six-week impasse, sources close to the talks said.
"There is a deal and the cabinet will be announced tomorrow
(on Sunday)," said one of two sources close to the talks who
confirmed the deal to Reuters.
A diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity also said the
deal had been reached and would be announced on Sunday.
The formation of a power-sharing cabinet is the key element
of a deal to end the east African nation's post-election crisis
in which 1 000 people died and more than 300 000 were displaced.
There were no immediate details about the make-up or size of
the cabinet, nor about whether either side gave up on claims to
influential ministries they had haggled over.
Urged calm
Spokespersons for Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and
the government declined to comment.
The two leaders had agreed to announce a 40-member coalition
cabinet on April 6 but, the deal fell apart at the last minute,
unsettling Kenyans and investors fearful of a return to
violence.
Over the past week, Kibaki and Odinga have urged calm and
said their positions were not that far apart.
However, both
refused to budge and said it was the responsibility of the
other.
Kibaki's disputed re-election after a December 27 vote had
triggered the violence.