VOA标准英语2009年-Tensions Threaten Kenya's Fragile Coalition Gov

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Kenyan PM Raila Odinga, speaks to the media in Nairobi, 07 Dec 2008

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is said to be in crisis talks with key leaders in his Orange Democratic Movement political party to assess whether he and the ODM, as the party is widely known, are being deliberately⁴ sidelined by President Kibaki and his Party of National Unity⁵ or PNU.

High-ranking ODM officials have publicly complained about several decisions announced by Mr. Kibaki and his allies in government in recent weeks. ODM says the decisions were made unilaterally and have had the perceived effect of diminishing the role of the prime minister in the coalition government.

One such decision involved the appointment of a 38-member transition team at Kenya's discredited⁶ and recently-disbanded electoral commission.

ODM officials say they were shocked to learn that the head of Kenya's Civil Service office and presidential ally, Francis Muthaura, had named several electoral commission employees who oversaw⁷ Kenya's disputed December 27 presidential poll to be on the transition team.
　

In this 12 Dec 2008 file photo, Kenyan Pres. Mwai Kibaki delivers a speech to the nation in Nairobi

It was the commission's announcement declaring incumbent⁸ Mwai Kibaki the winner over Raila Odinga that triggered nearly two months of unprecedented⁹ violence and tit-for-tat ethnic¹⁰ fighting across the country.

To end the blood-letting, the two political rivals agreed to a peace deal mediated¹¹ by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan, and in April announced the details of a power-sharing government that included the creation of a prime minister's post.

Nairobi-based political analyst¹² Barrack Muluka says even at that time he and other analysts¹³ observed troubling moves by President Kibaki to protect his power base.

"President Kibaki went on to retain an office in government, which seems to be parallel to that of the prime minister - that is the office of the head of the civil service, who many times has been seen to be working on behalf of the president," he said.

The growing rift¹⁴ between ODM and PNU reached a crisis point Friday when President Kibaki signed into law a media bill that has been condemned¹⁵ by journalists and human rights groups as a move to muzzle¹⁶ the media.

The law, if implemented¹⁷, gives the government broad powers, including the right to raid media offices, wiretap journalists and control broadcast content and restrict licenses¹⁸.

Prime Minister Odinga, who vehemently¹⁹ opposed the bill, says he had been given assurances by President Kibaki that it would not be signed into law. One Kenyan newspaper described the president's unilateral action as a slap in the face for Mr. Odinga.

ODM officials say despite the current crisis, they are not about to pull out of the coalition or call for its dissolution. But analysts say they fear the renewed political bickering²⁰ could lead to more violence and instability in Kenya.