Kenyan power-sharing era to begin

The state opening of Kenya's parliament is due to take place in Nairobi.

It comes a week after President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga agreed to share power.

They signed a deal to form a coalition following weeks of bloodshed - some of it said to have been state-sanctioned - after December's disputed elections.

Kenyan MPs' first duty in the next few days is expected to be voting on legislation that will put into effect the power-sharing deal.

BBC sources alleged meetings that led to post-election violence were held at the official residence of President Kibaki between a banned militia group, the Mungiki, and high-ranking government figures.

The aim was said to be to hire the militia as a defence force in Kenya's Rift Valley, to protect the president's Kikuyu community from attacks by opposition supporters. The government labelled the claims "preposterous".

Ethnic divide

The violence that convulsed Kenya in the aftermath of the election left some 1,500 people dead.

Ethnic groups loyal to Mr Odinga and President Kibaki clashed amid claims the government had rigged the poll.

International mediators led by ex-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Kenya in January in an effort to break the political deadlock.

Under a deal agreed last week by negotiators, Mr Odinga is to be appointed prime minister - a post which does not currently exist under the Kenyan constitution.

MPs from both sides have agreed to back the national accord and the necessary changes to the constitution, as well as plans to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The BBC's Adam Mynott in Nairobi says an agreement has helped to dispel anger but much work remains to be done - and for parliamentarians it starts on Thursday.

They will be watched closely by a country which has suffered its worst crisis since independence 45 years ago, he says.

Analysts say there is growing suspicion the post-poll bloodshed was orchestrated by both sides of the political divide.