Kenya chronology - Tues 4/8/2008

CHRONOLOGY-Kenya in crisis after disputed elections

08 Apr 2008 11:59:33 GMT 08 Apr 2008 11:59:33 GMT
Source: Reuters

April 8 (Reuters) - Kenya's opposition party said on Tuesday it was suspending talks with President Mwai Kibaki's party until its rivals agreed to share power fairly.

Here is a chronology since Dec. 27 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Dec. 30, 2007 - Electoral Commission declares Kibaki re-elected and he is hurriedly sworn in. Riots erupt as his rival, Raila Odinga, says the vote was stolen.

Jan. 4, 2008 - Kibaki says he will accept an election re-run if a court orders it. The next day, he says he is ready to form a government of national unity. The opposition rejects the offer.

Jan. 8 - Kibaki announces 17 ministers for his new cabinet. Protesters burn barricades in response.

Jan. 15 - Parliament is convened. The opposition, which won a majority of seats, takes the post of speaker.

Jan. 24 - Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, mediating in the crisis, brings Kibaki and Odinga together for their first meeting since the crisis began.

Jan. 28 - Opposition legislator Melitus Were is shot dead outside his home in Nairobi, triggering more rioting and ethnic killings.

Feb. 5 - Red Cross says the death toll from Kenya's bloodletting has risen to at least 1,000.

Feb. 16 - U.S. President George W. Bush, on a visit to Africa, backs a power sharing deal for Kenya.

Feb. 28 - Kibaki and Odinga sign agreement after talks on power-sharing.

March 6 - Kibaki commemorates the 1,000 people killed during the crisis and urges parliament to enshrine into law a power-sharing deal intended to keep the peace.

April 8 - Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement suspends talks with Kibaki's party until it agrees to share power fairly.

-- Police fire teargas to disperse opposition supporters in Nairobi protesting after the second delay in two days in naming a new cabinet.

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit;)
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