Kenya sets off on path of shared power

President Mwai Kibaki named opposition leader Raila Odinga prime minister Sunday, implementing a long-awaited power-sharing deal aimed at resolving a political crisis that left more than 1,200 people dead.

The deal marks the first time Kenya will have both a president and a prime minister, and the working relationship between Kibaki and Odinga, which has been frosty in the past, will determine how long the coalition lasts. Either side can end it at any time.

Tensions remain high. Gangs of youths allied to the president’s tribe launched violent protests early this morning in several Nairobi neighborhoods, burning tires and clashing with riot police. Gangs said they were protesting the inclusion of Kenya’s opposition party in the new Cabinet and the recent killing of a gang leader’s wife. At least one person was reportedly killed.

Kibaki and Odinga agreed in February to share power after a dispute over who won a December presidential election triggered weeks of unrest.

The new Cabinet has 40 ministries split equally between Kibaki’s Party of National Unity and its allied parties, and Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement.