Violence continues in Kenya as president names ministers

Nairobi: Violence broke out in Kenya's opposition strongholds after Kenya's President, Mwai Kibaki, announced that he has named new ministers.

The news was announced shortly before Ghana's leader, Kufuor, arrived as part of mediation efforts following disputed elections.

Leaders of the opposing party have said they will not recognize the new cabinet, which includes no members of the main opposition party.

Kibaki gave the announcement in an address to the nation, which he recorded before going to the airport to welcome Kufuor.

"In naming the cabinet, I have considered the importance of keeping the country united, peaceful and prosperous and a strong broad-based leadership," Kibaki said.

Along with the elections the opposition rejected the new cabinet. "It has absolutely no legal standing, having been nominated by a president who himself is illegitimately sworn in, into office, completely in violation of our constitution," said Anyang Nyongo, secretary-general of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Residents of the western town of Kisumu say that three people have died in the latest clashes but local police chief Grace Kahindi denied this.

In nearby Eldoret, which witnessed the torching of a church last week, people who had returned after five days violence have started fleeing, boarding vehicles with their belongings.

Some 600 people have died in a wave of clashes across Kenya after the opposition said the election had been rigged.

Kufuor's trip was seen as a sign that there has been some progress on the meditation front as his visit last week had been blocked, and with Kibaki naming only half of the cabinet, correspondents say the implication is that other posts are being left open for the outcome of negotiations.

However, they say it is the key ministries that have been filled, leaving 15 remaining posts. Kibaki named Kalonzo Musyoka, who came third in last month's election, as vice-president.

The 17 cabinet members named include at least one other member of Musyoka's party, as well as Uhuru Kenyatta, from the former ruling Kanu party. While many former cabinet members lost their seats in the parliamentary elections, Kibaki has retained several close allies from his Party of National Unity (PNU). They include Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi, who has previously been sacked as a minister over a huge corruption scandal