Cabinet meeting called off

A Cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday has been cancelled, defining the level of the crisis in the Grand Coalition Government.

Sources said the weekly meetings during which important national matters are discussed and approved before being taken to Parliament, may not be convened until the rift between PNU and ODM was resolved.

High placed government officials said the Cabinet meeting, chaired by President Kibaki, was cancelled on Monday, a day after Prime Minister Raila Odinga suspended ministers William Ruto and Sam Ongeri. President Kibaki stepped in and reversed the suspensions and declared that he was the only one with the authority to discipline ministers.

Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura, who is also the secretary to the Cabinet, wrote to the ministers on Monday informing them of the cancellation of the meeting. It was feared that the heat between PNU and ODM could spill over to the Cabinet meeting, whose agenda is crafted in advance.

ODM is furious that President Kibaki reversed the suspension of the ministers, indicating that Mr Odinga has no powers to take disciplinary action against those he supervises.

In a letter to the chairman of the African Union Commission and copied to chief mediator Kofi Annan and President Kibaki, Mr Odinga said it was urgent to convene a meeting to resolve the dispute between the two parties before a “complete paralysis” hits the government.

The party has also declared a crisis in the coalition and announced a boycott of Cabinet meetings until the differences were resolved. On Wednesday, sources said the President was waiting for Mr Odinga to return from Japan to shed light on whether he was the one who directed Lands minister James Orengo to announce the boycott.