Several coalition partners reject positions in Kenyan Cabinet
Coalition partners were refusing to join the new Kenyan Cabinet named by President Mwai Kibaki, isolating him as he struggles to regain credibility amid corruption scandals and after voters rejected a constitution he backed.
Today, at least three people Kibaki named to his 29-member Cabinet rejected their appointments and at least 13 out of 47 proposed deputy ministers reportedly declined as well.
It was the first time since Kenya’s independence from Britain in 1963 that politicians have rejected Cabinet or government positions soon after they were announced, pointing to a brewing crisis within the Kibaki administration.
Most of the politicians who rejected their appointments said that Kibaki had not consulted their parties or party leaders as he shaped his Cabinet, accusing Kibaki of failing to lead by consensus and respect the coalition that brought him to power.
Politicians who were once allies were going public with concerns about Kibaki’s leadership, and distancing themselves from a once popular figure whose political power appears in decline.
