The United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has asked President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to work towards a power sharing arrangement and building a new governance structure that will allow for real power sharing.

Dr. Rice stated that the Kofi Annan led negotiations must produce a stable and legitimate Government that will have support and confidence from the Kenyan people. She said the political crisis brought about by the disputed December 2007 elections must be brought to an end. Dr Rice said, "The last election was difficult. It was difficult for Kenyans. The elections did not produce an outcome Kenyans desired.” She insisted that Kenya must remain stable under a legitimate government.

Dr Rice who held talks with President Kibaki, ODM leader Raila Odinga and Hon. Kofi Annan said she had also held meetings with members of the civil society and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) and concluded that it was Kenyans who were calling for a speedy fix to the crisis.

The US Secretary of State emphasized that the power sharing deal must not be an illusion, “power sharing must be real,” she stated.

Dr. Rice is the highest-ranking US official to visit Kenya since the December 27 presidential vote outcome that triggered a bloodletting that left at least 1,000 dead, over half a million homeless and threatened an economic meltdown.

Kenya, she said has to move forward further stressing the need for the political players to come together for the sake of the country. "What I’m underscoring is that there is need to share power and responsibility. That’s what I gathered from all the teams I met. I met President Kibaki, ODM leader Raila Odinga, members of the civil society and business people and what they all want to see is an end to violence and a quick political settlement," Rice told an international press conference at the residence of US Ambassador, Mr. Michael Ranneberger.

Dr. Condoleezza Rice, born November 14, 1954 is the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush to hold the office. Rice is the first black woman, second African American (after Colin Powell, who served before her from 2001 to 2005), and second woman (after Madeleine Albright who served from 1997 to 2001) to serve as Secretary of State.

Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, but before joining the Bush administration, she was a Professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999. During the administration of George H.W. Bush, Rice also served as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.

When beginning as Secretary of State, Rice pioneered a policy of Transformational Diplomacy, with a focus on democracy in the greater Middle East. Her emphasis on supporting democratically elected governments faced challenges as Hamas captured a popular majority in Palestine yet supported Islamist terror, and influential countries including Saudi Arabia and Egypt maintained authoritarian systems with U.S. support. She chairs the Millennium Challenge Corporation's board of directors.

In addition to English, she speaks, with varying degrees of fluency, Russian, German, French, and Spanish