VOA标准英语2008年-Kenyan President Begins Naming Ministers

By Nick Wadhams
Nairobi
08 January 2008

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has gone ahead and appointed several Cabinet ministers in his new government even though the country is mired¹ in a political crisis that has left nearly 500 people dead. Nick Wadhams has the story from Nairobi.

Kalonzo Musyoka, the presidential candidate who won the third largest number of votes, was appointed vice² president. There had been speculation³ that Musyoka was staying in the race as a path to the vice presidency⁴.

In an appointment that bodes⁵ ill for Mr. Kibaki's promise to end corruption⁶, George Saitoti was named internal security minister. Saitoti has been dogged by corruption allegations for years and his election to parliament was surrounded by claims of fraud.

Amos Kimunya was reappointed finance minister.

Mr. Kibaki told a live television broadcast that he considered, in his appointments, "the importance of keeping the country united, peaceful and prosperous under a strong, broad-based leadership."
 
The announcement comes amid some of Kenya's worst violence since independence from Britain in 1963. International observers pronounced the presidential election seriously flawed, and the allegations of rigging have sparked violence across the country. Officials say at least 250,000 people have fled their homes. Many are from Mr. Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe and have now become the target of ethnic⁷ attacks.

Soon after the cabinet announcements, reports emerged of new protests in Kenya's west and attacks on people from the Kamba ethnic group, of which Musyoka is a member.  

None of the Cabinet appointees so far are from opposition⁸ leader Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which captured nearly 100 seats in the 210-seat parliament, more than any other party.

Mr. Kibaki's announcement came as a surprise, because he and Mr. Odinga are far from achieving a political solution.  At a news conference earlier in the day, Mr. Odinga said he would not accept Mr. Kibaki's offer of face-to-face talks on Friday, but would work through Ghana's President Jonh Kufuor, who is hoping to get the two sides to work together.

"Mr. Kibaki's response to my appeal for peace was to produce a public relations gimmick⁹ by which he invited me and my colleagues to attend a reconciliation¹⁰ meeting with him and church leaders. His effort will not be tolerated either by Kenyans or by the international community," he said.

At the same news conference, Mr. Odinga's team unveiled evidence that Mr. Kibaki added at least 471,000 fake votes to the vote tally¹¹ in 47 constituencies. Mr. Kibaki ended up winning the election by about 230,000 votes.

1 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 bodes   

v.预示，预告，预言( bode的第三人称单数 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待

参考例句：

• This bodes ill for the failure of the programme. 这是那项计划有凶兆。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This bodes him no good. 这对他是不祥之兆。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

10 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

11 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。