Cape Town  - Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga believes the grand coalition that emerged from his country's post-election strife could serve a blueprint for the resolution of ethnic-based conflicts elsewhere in Africa.

"I think the Kenyan experiment is a pioneering one and that it holds hope for the rest of Africa if it succeeds," Odinga told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa, which closes Friday in Cape Town.

Violent clashes followed Odinga's claims that President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity stole the presidential elections from him in December.

Over 1,500 people died in clashes between rival tribes affiliated to the political parties. Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee their homes.

Calm returned after several months and a deal brokered by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan saw a power-sharing government, with Odinga sworn in as prime minister in April.

Some observers have questioned how long the coalition can hold together and divisions have already emerged over how to deal with people arrested during the post-election violence.

However, Odinga believes that coalition government is the best solution to Kenya's - and Africa's - tribal conflicts.

"It shows how to deal with societies that are ethnically divided," the 63-year-old leader said. "The winner does not have to take it all. Power can be shared."

Odinga also said that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe should stop trying to desperately cling onto power and follow Kenya's lead.

"Zimbabwe's situation is a big embarrassment for Africa," he said. "Mugabe has to understand that it either to leave power or to share power."

The Kenyan premier said that the only way forward was for African nations to reject the "big leader syndrome" and embrace democracy.

"It is time for change and transformation in Africa, the imperial presidencies have ruined it," he said. (dpa)