‘Don’t be stupid,’ Kibaki, Raila tell Kenyans

Barely a day after the swearing in of the Grand Coalition Cabinet, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga told Kenyans to “stop the stupidity and shut up” if they wanted the two leaders to loosen the firm grip they have on the country. The president accused Kenyans of hypocrisy for criticizing him and Raila for forming a bloated Cabinet.

“Kenyans asked Raila and I to stop killing poor people and we did,” the president said, obviously agitated. “They told us to form a Grand Coalition Government and we have. So where is all this stupidity coming from?”

Read more from Ombuya E. Okong'o here.

Cabinet Announced-- Full List

Find provisional cabinet list here.

Portfolio balance; 21 questions

Many Kenyans did not watch the football this weekend, they were at home waiting on the announcement of the Cabinet results, looking for relief after three months of almost fictional horror. But it was real enough, and as elements of the political class keep reminding us, a sequel is on the cards should their angry spirits not be mollified. The major reason for their grief, are captured in words that have now come into the shrine of our political lexicon for all time, Portfolio Balance. The trouble is, what seems important to some, seems less important to others.
Which ministries do you think are crucial to the running of the state and under whose control do they fall? Is the very idea of a Grand Coalition under such circumstances not anathema to national progress, after all the vigorous arguments betray a desire in the politicians not to serve all Kenyans but to serve specific narrow passions of their own.

Discuss here.

Casting the first stone

Kenya has been at a political crossroads for far too long, and yet a new front has been set up by MPs from central Kenya allied to the PNU. They are suggesting that their Eldoret North colleague, Mr William Ruto, an ODM Pentagon member, be not part of the coalition government.

Knowing well that Mr Ruto has to be in the new Cabinet, the MPs want to throw a spanner into the works by imposing conditions on ODM that they know only too well will not be met. The main allegation against Mr Ruto are that he facilitated and/or planned post-election violence in Rift Valley Province. But can this accusation bar him from being a minister?

Read more from Donald Kipkorir here.

Cabinet woes in Kenya

Kenyans wait expectantly for the announcement of the coalition cabinet by President Kibaki. This follows the enactment by parliament of fresh legislation that paved the way for the Grand Coalition government and ‘legalised' the positions of Prime Minister and two deputies.

In a previous article, I explored the pact that brought forward the coalition deal, and the legislation that followed. I criticised the legislation as flawed and permissive. It was filled with such ambiguities that made certain that mischievous translation and misunderstanding as we had sought to avoid would surely follow. In reactions by readers on this site, those of us who were skeptical of the details in the agreement were accused of a lack of goodwill, and it was alleged that such criticism constituted part of a plot by the PNU to cheat the ODM out of what belonged to it by right of the signed document. That was not the intention then, and neither is it now. However, I remain persuaded that the weaknesses in the agreement means it will have a very short life span and we should be thankful if it lasts us to the end of this year.

Read more from Kamale T here.