By Wangui Kanina
Nairobi - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki opened a new session of parliament on Tuesday but he looked in deeper trouble than when he suspended the assembly four months ago after a humiliating referendum defeat.
Kibaki postponed the opening of parliament on November 25 in response to opposition calls for snap elections after angry voters defeated the referendum on a new constitution.
But Kibaki's attempt to win breathing space has backfired and he is now beset by a string of problems including two huge corruption scandals, a blundering raid on the media, and a worsening east African drought.
In his opening address, Kibaki acknowledged that political turmoil could damage Kenya's economy. "We should all work together to minimise negative political activities that can create unjustified fear or uncertainty among investors".
The referendum defeat and corruption scandals that have forced three ministers to resign have fractured Kibaki's ruling coalition, strengthened the opposition and further tarnished his image as a reformer.
As if that was not enough, the government dug itself into a deeper hole on March 2 when masked police commandos raided Kenya's second biggest media house, the Standard group.
Kibaki has said nothing about the raid, but far from intimidating the often critical media it has provided damaging ammunition for the front pages every day since.
The story now also features the bizarre case of two Armenian businessmen, mocked in the press for their taste for heavy gold chains, watches and rings, who the opposition says led the raid and had shady dealings with Kibaki's government.
Nation newspaper columnist Macharia Gaitho said on Tuesday: "With every new claim, every new revelation, every new accusation, the Kibaki government sinks deeper into the muck."
Analysts say political battles between the opposition, itself split, and Kibaki loyalists keen to restore his credibility could paralyse attempts to pass a backlog of bills dealing with everything from the next budget to sexual crimes.
Instead, assembly sessions are expected to be dominated by debate over the corruption scandals, Kibaki's worst crisis since he took power in 2002 on promises to create jobs, tackle poverty and stop high-level graft.
"The idea from (the opposition) is that they want to disrupt government action. There are so many bills pending but I don't see them going through, it is going to be a war zone with scores to settle," political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi said.
- Additional reporting by Katie Nguyen and Marie-Louise Gumuchian