Kufuor, who chairs the African Union, held several hours of separate talks with President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday, but officials reported no progress. He  failed to soften the stance of the feuding leaders to end the crisis, aggravated Tuesday by Kibaki’s announcement of a partial cabinet.
Despite huge international pressure, the two rivals have still not met face-to-face since Kibaki was sworn in on December 30.

“The only concrete proposal that Kufuor brought to the table was the establishment of a panel of eminent persons to mediate between both sides,” Anyang Nyongo, secretary general of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement said on Wednesday.

Kibaki told Kufuor that he had left some seats for the ODM in the cabinet and reiterated his willingness to form a government of national unity with his furious rivals, an official from the presidency said.

“The opposition wants the president to recognise that there is a crisis in the country, but Kibaki refuses,” he added. Odinga claims he was robbed of victory in the December 27 election, which was widely criticised for inconsistencies in the vote tallying process.