NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s justice minister resigned Monday in a move that was likely to raise tensions within the discordant coalition government.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s justice minister resigned Monday in a move that was likely to raise tensions within the discordant coalition government. Martha Karua said she could no longer be useful as minister but did not give details because she was not sure whether President Mwai Kibaki, who was out of the country, had read her letter of resignation. "I have tendered my resignation as Minister for Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs because I feel my position as minister is untenable following recent events in the government," Karua told reporters in Nairobi. She had called for overhauling the judiciary including the way judges are appointed, but last week, Kibaki appointed new judges without her knowledge. Kibaki also has clashed with Prime Minister Raila Odinga over how government should be run and how quickly institutions should be reformed. "I’ve done my best to serve, but I feel my remaining as minister will no longer be useful," Karua said. "I’ll now be able to totally disagree with anything that is anti-reform." The coalition government was formed in April last year after Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing deal to end a bloodbath over disputed presidential results. More than 1,000 people were killed during the violence and hundreds of thousands displaced from their homes. In recent months, however, public disenchantment with the government has increased because Cabinet ministers have publicly squabbled and the government has been damaged by allegations of high-level corruption, extra-judicial killings by the police and being ineffective. Karua has been one of Kibaki’s strongest defenders but has never been part of the president’s inner circle of informal advisers and allies. Ever since she joined elective politics in 1992, Karua has always been a key member of the president’s party. Karua, who has expressed her interest to run for president, said Monday those plans are still on course. Kenya’s next elections are scheduled for 2012. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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