Kenya’s rival politicians remain divided over the details of forming a government together to end the post-election crisis,
government negotiators said on Sunday. The officials said local media reports that the two sides had gotten as far as divvying up ministries were wrong.
Government negotiator Martha Karua said the only items that had been decided on so far were the creation of a prime minister’s post and its responsibility for coordinating government ministries, and the termination of the coalition if parliament is dissolved.
“All other issues are under negotiation, to which end various proposals by the parties are on the table for discussion,’’ Karua told reporters. Opposition spokesman Tony Gachoka declined to comment on the statement, saying it did not present any new information.
Kenya’s peace talks have been volleying between a deal and collapse for more than a week now as the country’s politicians struggle to find a compromise to move on from a flawed election that sparked widespread fighting between supporters of the president and his rival from a western ethnic group.
In the latest sign that violence has not completely subsided, police said eight houses were burned in a village near the western town of Molo on Sunday in an apparent clash between Kalenjin and Kikuyu ethnic groups.
Two people - a father and son - were taken to a hospital with injuries, a local police official said on condition of anonymity because he was not an authorised spokesman. Opposition leader Raila Odinga charges that he was the rightful winner of the Dec 27 presidential vote, which international and local election monitors have said was manipulated. President Mwai Kibaki maintains that he legitimately won another term.
The ensuing violence, which has killed more than 1,000 people and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, has pushed the two sides to agree to form some sort of power-sharing government.