Kenya opposition urge election after sackings

By David Mageria and Katie Nguyen

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s opposition demanded early
elections on Thursday after President Mwai Kibaki dissolved his
cabinet in response to a humiliating referendum defeat.

“This parliament is now discredited and the president must
dissolve it to pave way for the people of Kenya to elect
representatives with a new mandate,” the main opposition and a
dissident party from the ruling coalition said.

In a political first for Kenya, Kibaki sacked all his
ministers and assistant ministers late on Wednesday, saying he
wanted to reorganize and unite a cabinet which has not met for
months and been too divided to pass much-needed reforms.

The move stunned many in the East African nation of 32
million where the 74-year-old president was widely viewed as a
fence-sitter since he came to power in 2002.

However, the resounding rejection of his proposed
constitution in Monday’s poll was interpreted as a vote of no
confidence in his government, leaving Kibaki no option but to
clear the political decks and show he still runs the country,
analysts said.

“He had to make sure that people know that he is in charge.
People have said they are not satisfied with the pace of
reforms because of the infighting in his cabinet,” Arun Devani,
head of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, told Reuters.

Kibaki’s championing of the charter, which would have been
Kenya’s first constitution rewrite in four decades, deepened
rifts in his ruling coalition. Opponents turned the vote into a
referendum on his three years in power, which began with
promises to fight corruption and tackle poverty.

While some admired Kibaki’s show of strength in a country
used to “Big Man” rule, others said it was a dangerous ploy.

“I am actually not concerned with the firing as much as the
fact that there is no cabinet,” sacked Sports Minister Ochillo
Ayacko told Reuters. “It is a breach of the constitution, there
should never be a vacuum even for a single day.”

The opposition statement said urgent action was needed to
establish a government with legitimacy, adding that national
institutions were “grievously out of step with the people.”

SPECULATION

Kenyan political and media circles were awash with
speculation over whether Kibaki would recall trusted allies
from his Kikuyu clan to the cabinet, continue his coalition
with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), or reach out to the
opposition.

Kibaki’s move got rid of rebel ministers but also targeted
some of his closest allies. The Daily Nation said Kibaki had
suffered from bad advice that “lowered (him) to the level of
handing out largesse in an effort to curry voter favor.”

The newspaper added: “The president’s allies, therefore,
were perhaps more deserving of the sack than his harshest
critics. … Their performance, given the quantity of egg on
the president’s face, has been disastrous.”

Cabinet divisions had been fueled by Kibaki’s failure to
adhere to a pre-election deal that his National Alliance Party
of Kenya (NAK) share power with the LDP run by charismatic
former Roads Minister Raila Odinga, a leader of the Luo clan.

LDP ministers were vocal in the “No” campaign, opposing the
president and exchanging insults with those close to him.

Odinga’s party joined the opposition Kenya African National
Union (KANU) in the “No” camp, winning 57 percent of the 6
million votes cast in the referendum.

Analysts said the bad blood between Kibaki cabinet allies
and their LDP colleagues had slowed his development agenda.

“(Kibaki) is looking for a fresh start, which means the
whole LDP brigade has to go. He needs people to deliver both
economic development and a win in 2007,” said political
scientist Mutahi Ngunyi, referring to the next election.

Kenya has East Africa’s largest economy and is viewed by
the West as a linchpin of stability in turbulent east Africa.