Kenyan president's key allies return to the cabinet

Political turmoil facing Kenya dwindled on Wednesday when two key allies of President Mwai Kibaki agreed to be sworn in as ministers after initially refusing to return to his cabinet.

Ford Kenya party chairman, Musikari Kombo and National Party of Kenya leader, Charity Ngilu who declined their ministerial posts last week, saying they had not been consulted on new cabinet appointments, agreed to be sworn in as local government and health ministers respectively.

The agreement came only a day after Kibaki agreed to elevate four lawmakers from their parties previously appointed as deputy ministers to full cabinet ministers.

The president yielded to pressure on Tuesday and created new ministries to contain his dissenting party leaders, both key partners that brought him to power in 2002.

The ruling coalition has been under pressure since Kenyans voted against a new draft constitution late last month.

Meanwhile, Kibaki rejected calls for a snap election two years ahead of schedule.

"People are wasting time saying that they want snap elections. We are not afraid of an election, elections will be called in two years' time, for now let us concentrate on development," he said during the swearing-in ceremony of the six ministers and nine deputy ministers in Nairobi.

Kibaki cautioned some politicians against being carried away by the outcome of the just concluded referendum, noting that they should not be misled by the results of the plebiscite into thinking they were politically invincible.

He said that the referendum was purely a vote on the constitution and must not be confused with a general election where people vote for individuals.

He said he had been given a five-year mandate to govern the country.

Kibaki, who dismissed his entire cabinet on Nov. 23 after the referendum, said the vote had not been a popularity contest, but an opportunity for Kenyans to declare their stand on the proposed constitution.

Critics say the new cabinet is made up mostly of old friends and colleagues who did not campaign against the draft referendum.

The president's most significant action was to dispense with seven former ministers who joined forces with the opposition to campaign against the proposed constitution, which Kibaki had backed.

But that was no great shock given the enormous rifts in the previous cabinet, and it was a move that would do little to appease frustrated Kenyans who overwhelmingly supported the "No" campaign.

The rejected draft constitution would have replaced the country 's charter, which came into force when Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Kibaki took office after leading an opposition alliance to a landslide victory in 2002 elections.

Source: Xinhua