Unrest in Kenya as Peace Plan Falters

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LAMU, Kenya — Riots erupted in Kenya on Tuesday as opposition leaders announced that they were suspending talks with the government over a stalled power sharing agreement.

According to witnesses, dozens of young men stormed into the streets of Kibera, a sprawling slum in the capital, Nairobi, lighting bonfires, ripping up railroad tracks and throwing rocks at police officers in a scene reminiscent of the violence that convulsed Kenya in the wake of the Dec. 27 election.

“No cabinet, no peace!” the protesters yelled, referring to the stillborn cabinet that has yet to be formed because of bitter divisions between the government and the opposition.

Opposition supporters blocked roads with burning barricades on Tuesday in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya.

This was the first major riot since Feb. 28, when rival politicians signed a power sharing agreement that was billed as the only way to end weeks of bloodshed after the disputed presidential election.

The post-election violence killed more than 1,000 people, and drove hundreds of thousands away from their homes, most of whom are still displaced. Much of the violence flared along ethnic lines and it threatened to ruin Kenya’s cherished image as a bastion of stability in a chaotic region.

Now, it seems, some of that same instability has returned. Riots also broke out in Kisumu, in western Kenya, where witnesses said hundreds of angry opposition supporters blocked the road to the airport and stoned cars. Unruly protests were reported in several other towns, though police officials could not immediately be reached for comment. By the close of business on Tuesday, the Kenyan currency had dropped against the dollar, signaling the serious damage a few protests can do to an already jittery economy.

The problem that set off these disturbances seemed to be the same issue that has bedeviled the reconciliation efforts from the beginning: the division of power. Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, whom opposition leaders and some Western election observers have accused of stealing the vote in December, seems reluctant to grant opposition leaders substantial power.

Under the power sharing accord, Mr. Kibaki and top opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed to form a national unity government in which cabinet positions would be doled out equally. Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations, spent weeks in Kenya hammering out the framework for such a government.

But Mr. Kibaki’s side has refused to cede enough of the powerful ministries, like finance, foreign affairs or internal security, to placate the opposition.

It is not clear whether the riots are part of a campaign by opposition supporters to press the government to cede important positions, or if they signal a more serious breakdown in the power sharing agreement. Opposition leaders have denied organizing the protests and said they were spontaneous.

Anyang Nyong’o, secretary-general of Mr. Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement, said it had suspended negotiations until the president’s side “fully recognizes the 50-50 power sharing arrangement and the principle of portfolio balance.”

Salim Lone, Mr. Odinga’s spokesman, said that the suspension was meant to be temporary and that Mr. Odinga wanted the talks to resume — but only after each side had sent two emissaries to negotiate about negotiating.

“It’s definitely a step back,” Mr. Lone said. “But there is a profound disagreement about the notions of power sharing.” Mr. Kibaki, meanwhile, has blamed the opposition for confronting him with “preconditions and ultimatums.”

“This matter must come to a close without further delay,” Mr. Kibaki said in a statement issued Monday. “I invite Odinga to engage constructively so that we can conclude the formation of the new cabinet.”

Alfred Mutua, a government spokesman, said Tuesday, “the delay is very simple.”

“Somebody, somewhere is holding Odinga hostage,” he said. “They really want to draw this out.”

Mr. Kibaki seems to have the stickiest political calculations to make. His parliamentary coalition is made up of several smaller parties, compared with Mr. Odinga’s movement, which is one political organization and seemingly unified. Diplomats and political scientists here say that Mr. Kibaki needs to hand out as many influential cabinet posts as possible to retain political support in Parliament, which is about evenly split between Mr. Kibaki’s and Mr. Odinga’s allies.

Mr. Kibaki has pushed for the cabinet to be expanded to 40 ministers, which would be a Kenyan record, from about 35. Mr. Odinga’s party — with many trade organizations — has criticized this, saying that Kenya lacks the money to pay for so many positions, especially when thousands of people are still living in tents.

Kennedy Abwao contributed reporting from Nairobi.

SOURCE: NY Times, April 8, 2008

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