afrol News, 18 February - The former UN chief, Kofi Annan has urged the warring Kenyan leaders to resolve their differences, saying their row will derail steps taken to establish unity in the country.

Mr Annan said the African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities is concerned with the prevailing political crisis saying this would affect the implementation of the national peace accord.

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have been at each other throats since Monday, after President Kibaki revoked the three months suspension of two ministers currently under investigation for alleged corrupt practices.

The panel, under Mr Annan's leadership, brokered an accord following the violence that erupted after disputed December 2007 elections, which left 1,500 dead and a quarter of a million people displaced.

The accord resulted in a power-sharing deal between the two poll rivals, Mr Kibaki and Mr Odinga, whereby the former kept his job as president and the latter was made prime minister.

Mr Annan's panel urged the two principals "to meet urgently in order to agree" on the application mechanisms of power-sharing and on a common stance against corruption.

Vice Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi has urged Mr Annan to return to Kenya and salvage the national accord before it unravels.

Mr Odinga's detractors said he is only seeking to undermine Agriculture Minister William Ruto, who is likely to be one of his main rivals in the 2012 presidential polls. However, Mr Odinga still maintains that there is enough evidence to probe both the education and agriculture ministries.

Mr Kibaki's critics said the protecting of scandal-ridden officials by the president and his entourage was further evidence that the regime was corrupt.

The two ministers were sacked on Sunday.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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