Kenya is holding by-elections in five constituencies, less then six months after the country was gripped by violence following disputed polls.

Two of the seats in question were held Ten Cate sacked as Chelsea coach ...
US 'stuck' with Guantanamo prison ...
Shannon mother in neglect charge ...
Violence flares in Nairobi slum ... by MPs killed after December's polls.

But the voting will be overshadowed by the deaths of two government ministers in a plane crash on Tuesday.

Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones and Assistant Home Affairs Minister Lorna Laboso were on their way to assist with the by-elections.

A pilot and a security guard were also killed when the Cessna plane the ministers were flying in crashed near the western town of Narok, Kenyan police told the BBC.

Fragile coalition

Although the parliamentary impact of these by-elections may be limited, there are fears that the underlying tensions that sparked clashes after the polls have still not been resolved and could resurface, the BBC's Karen Allen in Nairobi says.

Kenya's grand coalition government - which has set up a number of commissions to investigate the violence - has been looking decidedly fragile, our correspondent says.

Supporters of President Mwai Kibaki and his Prime Minister Raila Odinga have locked horns over several key areas, including whether those held after the elections should be given amnesty or be subject to the full force of the law.

More than 1,000 people were killed and some 300,000 displaced after the polls.

(BBC)

<< Back