Prime Minister Raila Odinga announced the suspensions Sunday after their ministries were plagued by corruption scandals, but later Sunday President Mwai Kibaki fired back, saying Odinga did not have the authority to suspend them.
Political commentator Kwendo Opanga said the public spat further dents people's confidence in Kenya's coalition government, which was formed after post-election violence left more than 1,000 Kenyans dead.
“What comes across quite clearly is that the two people are at loggerheads on a critical, crucial issue that speaks to many Kenyans …,” said Opanga, who writes a regular column in the weekly Sunday Nation newspaper.
Under the power-sharing agreement, the president and prime minister are supposed to consult on Cabinet appointments or dismissals as the portfolios are split between their parties.
The contradictory statements the two issued on Sunday revealed the fault lines in Kenya's coalition government that have held so far because President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga usually read from the same script.
That changed as the government confronted one of Kenya's more intractable problems - widespread corruption.
Odinga said on Sunday he had suspended for three months Agriculture Minister William Ruto and Education Minister Sam Ongeri following corruption scandals that have plagued their ministries. Odinga's action was a rare move taken against a Cabinet minister in Kenya.
He said he made the announcement after “the requisite consultations have taken place in government. So this is a government decision.” Shortly after Odinga's announcement, Kibaki said the prime minister did not consult him before making the announcement and that Odinga did not have authority to suspend the two ministers.
“Therefore constitutionally, the two ministers remain in office,” Kibaki said in a statement. “This position should not be interpreted in any way as undermining the ongoing war against corruption.” Opanga said there is still time for the two leaders to sit down and talk about this impasse.
“It is important they do that because if they don't, if the two of them are seen to be taking paths that are parallel on corruption, we are looking again at the abyss,” he said.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic audit report made public on Thursday showed Kenya wasted 2 billion shillings ($26.1 million) through corrupt deals made in the government program meant to provide subsidized maize for Kenya's poor.
Fraud uncovered by government auditors in the government's program to offer free primary education has seen Britain and US suspend yet to be disbursed aid.
The most recent report by a consulting firm monitoring the work of Kenya's coalition government points out the good working relationship between Kibaki and Odinga held the government together at the top, but their lieutenants continue to snipe at each other.
The improved working relationship between the two leaders, “has, however, not translated into improved relations between their different constituencies,” said South Consulting in its October 2009 report. “Furthermore, there is increased factionalism within the different political parties.” The firm had been hired by former UN chief Kofi Annan who mediated the power-sharing deal between Kibaki and Raila.
