Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki has carried out a brief cabinet reshuffle with far reaching implications. Succession politics seemed to take a more definite shape yesterday when he elevated Mr Uhuru Kenyatta to the plum Ministry of Finance.

The much-awaited mini reshuffle, that also saw Bureti MP Franklin Bett land the Roads portfolio, provided a peek into the unease in the dominant ODM, which late last year appeared headed for a split with Rift Valley MPs accusing Prime Minister Raila Odinga of short-changing them in the allocation of Cabinet and Civil Service appointments.

Political analysts were quick to discern the President and Prime Minister's game plan. "The art and science of real politics guided the appointments, which from information in the public domain, was done after consultations between the two principals. While Bett is strong and will certainly cushion the Prime Minister against brickbats hurled his way, it's doubtful whether Uhuru will defuse the storm that has been brewing in PNU for a very long time," Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee told the Nairobi based The standard newspaper.

In the countdown to the 2007 General Election, Uhuru stepped down in favour of Kibaki, enabling the latter to sweep clean the Central Province vote.

"In terms of support, there is no single individual who has made many sacrifices for Kibaki more than Uhuru. It should not surprise anyone that Kibaki gave the mantle of minding the national coffers to Uhuru, who would have split the Central Province were he to defy the advice of his kinsmen and opposed Kibaki," Khalwale said of the new Finance minister, who is also MP for Gatundu South.

According to Khalwale, the changes announced by Kibaki yesterday come with serious political risks, especially for Uhuru.

One of the PNU affiliates party, Narc-Kenya, chaired by Minister for Justice Martha Karua was the first to bolt out of PNU, which was initially a conglomeration 14 parties that came together to fend off the ODM onslaught in the countdown to the last General Election. Until Kibaki appointed Uhuru Deputy Prime Minister upon formation of the Grand Coalition Government, Karua was one of Kibaki's fiercest defenders, leaving Uhuru, son of Kenya's founding President Jomo Kenyatta, to play second fiddle. Martha Karua is one of the many Cabinet ministers in Kibaki's cabinet who have expressed interest in succeeding him.

The elevation of Uhuru, who holds a degree in economics and political science from Umhurst University, USA, to the Finance portfolio could trigger major realignments in PNU.

Mr Kenyatta's replacement at the Ministry of Trade is former Finance Minister Amos Kimunya, who returns to the Cabinet six months after MPs passed a vote of no confidence in him over the sale of Grand Regency Hotel to Libyan investors.

Mr Bett succeeds former Kipkelion MP Kipkalia Kones who died in a plane crash. Mr Kones's widow, Mrs Beatrice Kones, was named assistant minister for Home Affairs, replacing Ms Lorna Laboso who died in the same plane crash.

Treasury experts speculated that the naming of a substantive finance minister at this time was crucial to ensure that preparations for the Budget went on smoothly.

Two major international conferences with implications on the operations of the Treasury will be held at the beginning of February and the presence of a substantive finance minister is crucial.

The "Kenya We Want" conference is expected to be attended by experts and leaders from Asia, among other countries.

As a prospective presidential candidate, the new appointment will serve Mr Kenyatta well because of the exposure he will get. But it was Mr Kenyatta, a son of Kenya's first President Jomo Kenyatta and a one time Kanu presidential candidate, who emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the reshuffle.

The move from the Trade ministry to the more high profile Finance portfolio will give Mr Kenyatta an even higher profile both locally and internationally.

Others who have held the portfolio and who have gone on to more senior government jobs include President Kibaki, Internal Security Minister George Saitoti, who served as former President Daniel arap Moi's vice-president, and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi who also served as Mr Moi's last deputy.

For Mr Kimunya, his return to the Cabinet is indication of a vote of confidence in him by President Kibaki.

Mr Kimunya was personally cleared of any wrongdoing in the Grand Regency sale, but the Treasury was found guilty of failing to seek advice on the transaction from the Attorney-General.