NAIROBI, March 20 (Reuters) - An independent commission of inquiry to investigate Kenya's disputed presidential election was sworn in on Thursday and said it may hear some evidence behind closed doors. More than 1,200 people died and 300,000 were displaced by riots and ethnic violence that erupted after President Mwai Kibaki's contested re-election in the Dec. 27 poll. The seven-member commission will be chaired by a retired South African judge, Johann Kriegler, and will study all aspects of the controversial vote, in which both sides claimed rigging. "The inquiry may hold private interviews with people appearing before the commission to allay their fears of adversity or reprisals," Kriegler told a news conference after being sworn in by Kenya's Chief Justice Evan Gicheru. His team, which was set up as part of a power-sharing pact forged last month by former U.N. boss Kofi Annan, expects to quiz officials of the Electoral Commission of Kenya, election observers, politicians and members of the public. It is due to report its findings to Kibaki within three to six months, and then make them public within 14 days after that. Also serving on the commission are an electoral expert from Argentina, a Tanzanian judge and four Kenyans. Kenyans have hailed parliament for passing two key laws this week that were needed for power-sharing agreement and create the role of prime minister and two deputy premiers. Opposition leader Raila Odinga is due to become prime minister. But many residents are worried about acrimonious debates ahead as both sides thrash out who will take the two deputy posts, and how to share other cabinet jobs fairly. Kenyan newspapers said on Thursday that the official unveiling of the new coalition cabinet was not expected until Tuesday, after the long Easter weekend. A government spokesman declined to comment on that. The government will then overhaul the constitution, hoping to fix what critics say is an all-powerful presidency as well as tackle underlying issues of inequality and land that the political crisis in east Africa's biggest economy laid bare. (Reporting by Robert Hummy; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Charles Dick) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
A Tibetan nun sits next to a sign appealing to international communities, in the Tibetan refugee camp at Jawlakhel in the Nepali capital Kathmandu March 19, 2008. Tibetans living in Nepal ...
