Kenyan President, Rival Agree on Power-Sharing
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NAIROBI — Kenya’s president and the opposition leader signed a power-sharing deal today to bring the country back from the depths of violence and ethnic hatred that followed the disputed presidential election two months ago.
After weeks of frustrating negotiations, President Kibaki and his rival, Raila Odinga, gave terse smiles for the cameras and shook hands as onlookers applauded enthusiastically.
Under the agreement, the opposition leader will become prime minister and have the power to “coordinate and supervise” the government — more authority than Mr. Kibaki wanted to yield.
Mr. Odinga referred to Mr. Kibaki as “my countryman, President Mwai Kibaki,” an important sign of acceptance from a man who has said Mr. Kibaki’s re-election in the December 27 vote was a sham.
“For the last two months, Kenyans have known nothing but sadness,” Mr. Odinga said.
Mr. Kibaki added: “This process has reminded us that as a nation there are more issues that unite than that divide us.”
But in a reminder of the previous weeks’ chaos, police fired tear gas to disperse dozens of people who were gathered outside Mr. Kibaki’s office to witness the signing.
Both Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga claim to have won the country’s presidential election, which observers say was marred by rigging on both sides.
The dispute set off street violence that killed more than 1,000 people and eviscerated the East African country’s economy. Postelection violence has largely subsided in recent weeks, but the country remains on edge.
Mediator Kofi Annan said earlier today that “compromise was necessary for the survival of this country.”
As prime minister, Mr. Odinga will have the power to “coordinate and supervise” government affairs, according to the deal. That is more authority than the government had wanted to give, but it still leaves open whether the prime minister will have executive authority that cannot be overruled by the president.
It was unclear when Mr. Odinga would take up the position. Mr. Kibaki said he is reconvening parliament next Thursday to begin work on the constitutional changes necessary to make the deal into law.
In western Kenya, scene of the some of the worst postelection violence, many people said it will take years to recover.
“The deal between Raila and Kibaki will help to cool down the situation but I doubt if it will enable us to get back to our homes,” a 56-year-old man among 19,000 people living in a camp in Eldoret, Paul Waweru, said.
A trader in the western town of Kericho, Samson Kiplagat, said Mr. Odinga had sold out.
“Raila has betrayed us for settling for a lesser position than that of the presidency,” he said.
But residents in Nairobi’s Kibera slum celebrated what they saw as a chance for peace.
“The general mood among people is that of happiness,” a resident whose barbershop was destroyed during the postelection violence, Nelson Ochieng, said. “We are tired of the political crisis. I was a barber but my shop was burnt. Now I’m jobless and the end of this crisis means that I can rebuild my business.”
The conflict has tarnished the reputation of this once-stable and prosperous country, bringing sharp rebuke from exasperated Western powers. Diplomats from America and around Africa have jetted in to Kenya to urge progress, many of them exasperated by the talks’ glacial pace.
The State Department welcomed today’s announcement but said work remains to ensure long-term success.
“We want to see this agreement implemented and much will depend on its implementation,” a State Department spokesman, Tom Casey, said. “We will be watching very carefully to see how this progresses.”
“We appreciate the goodwill shown” by Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga in reaching the agreement and calling on their followers to cooperate, added Mr. Casey.
Prime Minister Brown of Britain also applauded the deal but said “the hard work must continue. Kenyans need help to resettle and rebuild. Real leadership, patience, and tolerance is necessary to ensure that the agreement sticks.”
Secretary-General Ban called the agreement “a breakthrough” that “gives hope to the people of Kenya for a return to democratic stability in their country,” a U.N. spokeswoman, Michele Montas, said.