Kenya strikes power-share deal - report

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga struck a deal on a power-sharing cabinet today after secret one…

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga struck a deal on a power-sharing cabinet today after secret one-on-one talks to end a six-week impasse, sources close to the talks said.

"There is a deal and the cabinet will be announced tomorrow (Sunday)," said one of two sources close to the talks who confirmed the deal to Reuters.

A diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity also said the deal had been reached and would be announced on Sunday.

The formation of a power-sharing cabinet is the key element of a deal to end the east African nation's post-election crisis in which 1,200 people died and more than 300,000 were displaced.

There were no immediate details about the make-up or size of the cabinet, nor about whether either side gave up on claims to influential ministries they had haggled over.

Spokesmen for Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the government declined to comment.

The two leaders had agreed to announce a 40-member coalition cabinet on April 6 but the deal fell apart at the last minute, unsettling Kenyans and investors fearful of a return to violence.

Over the past week, Kibaki and Odinga have urged calm and said their positions were not that far apart. However, both refused to budge and said it was the responsibility of the other.