Kenya appoints new interior minister

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Thursday appointed Katoo Ole Metito as the country’s new internal security minister, following the death of the previous minister George Saitoti in a helicopter crash.

Kibaki named Metito, a lawmaker, as the minister for provincial administration and internal security, according to an official statement.

He replaces acting security minister Yusuf Haji, who remains in his post as defence minister. Haji took over the post after Saitoti died in the June crash.

Metito takes over in the wake of violent ethnic clashes that have left over 100 people dead in Tana River, a remote coastal region.