The Kenyan Parliament met Thursday for the first time since a power-sharing deal was struck to end a political crisis that had plunged the country into chaos.
Kenya Politicians from the ruling party and the opposition spoke sweet words of unity — but the top leaders continued to sit apart from one another in the chamber. “Honorable members, you must now become the ambassadors of peace and reconciliation,” President Mwai Kibaki told the lawmakers. “Please forget the history of what has happened, not because you want to put it aside, but because you want to do something much better.”
The lawmakers — who include 21 women, a record here — now begin the delicate business of carrying out the much-anticipated and possibly awkward power-sharing deal. Under it, the top opposition leader, Raila Odinga, becomes prime minister, and the ruling party and the opposition divide the cabinet posts.
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