While Kenya has been on rocky ground ever since the signing of the National Accord that instituted a coalition government, tensions have erupted in the past two days between the Prime Minister, Ralia Odinga, and President Mwai Kibaki. Prime Minister Odinga now wants Kofi Annan (mediator from the intitial intervention to end the post-election violence) to step in and help reconcile this issue.
Recently a scandal (one of many which has plagued Kenya recently) was reported that allegedly involves the Ministers of Agriculture and Education. Odinga took action by suspending them until a review could decide whether or not they were guilty, apparently done without the consultation of President Kibaki. The President now claims that Odinga has overstepped his constitutional powers and reinstated the two ministers.
Tensions like these have been quiet in the recent months with the Coalition government seeming to get along, but with this new eruption of power struggle, people worry about the effects on the rest of the population. When tensions like these get reported in the news, there inevitably has been increased dialogue of ethnic hatred and more foreshadowing of potential future violence.
Hopefully Kenya will see that this issue dies down quickly to forestall any potential side effects of increased tensions at the local level, but if Annan is truly need, there will be more questioning from the public about the ability of the coalition government to ever work together to institute the reforms they have promised.
Article from BBC
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