Tuesday's announcment by Kibaki is also likely to satisfy those in Kenya, including the Law Society of Kenya, who questioned the suitability of Judge Vishram to lead Kenya’s notoriously troubled judicial branch.

There were also those who had expressed concern over the lack of any public search or competitive process in selecting the Controller of Budget or Director of Public Prosecutions.

While the announcement Tuesday of the withdrawal of the nominations will certainly be seen as a victory for Odinga, he took a conciliatory line when addressing the media.

“I want to begin by paying tribute to President Mwai Kibaki for his courage in withdrawing the controversial nominations,” Odinga said.

The prime minister called the decision a victory for cooperation, but the nominations process is far from resolved. President Kibaki promised to advertise the positions of Budget Controller and Director of Public Prosecutions through the Public Service Commission, but Odinga expressed reservations about such a course of action.

“We are conscious that the current public service commission has not been reconstituted in the context of the new constitution,” he added. “As such, the interviews for the positions of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Controller of the Budget should be conducted by competent panels of renowned experts in the concerned fields with the Public Service Commission providing secretarial services.”