Nairobi  - Kenya will be happy to see the back of 2008, a year in which one of sub-Saharan Africa's most stable states exploded into an orgy of violence following disputed presidential elections.

The future peace of the East African nation now depends upon the implementation of two crucial reports commissioned in the wake of the violence.

Observers are warning that the 2012 elections could prompt more bloodletting should the recommendations not be taken onboard, but so far the signs are looking good.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki Wednesday took a step toward meeting one of the key recommendations when they signed a deal to set up a local tribunal to try prominent politicians and businessmen accused of orchestrating the violence.

More than 1,500 people died in clashes between rival tribes affiliated to political parties during the post-election violence in January and February of this year.

Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee their homes as a campaign of murder, revenge attacks, rapes and the razing of homes swept the country.

The clashes were prompted by Orange Democratic Movement leader Odinga's accusation that Kibaki's Party of National Unity had rigged the elections.

Calm returned after several months and a deal negotiated by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan saw the creation of a power-sharing government, with Odinga sworn in as prime minister in April.

As part of the peace deal, two separate commissions were set up to investigate the causes of the violence and give recommendations on how to avoid a repeat in the future.

High-ranking government ministers are believed to have been named as organizers of the violence in a sealed envelope which Justice Philip Waki, head of one of the commissions, handed over to Annan.

Parliament now has only 45 days to pass the legislation that will allow the tribunal to begin operation by March.

Should they fail to meet that deadline, Annan will give the envelope to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.

Many ordinary Kenyans would like to see the deadline pass, as they are concerned that a local tribunal may allow the accused an escape route.

People have little faith in their new batch of MPs, who they say are more concerned with avoiding paying tax on their allowances than with running the country.

Corruption is also seen as rife, and there are worries that politicians could simply buy their way out of trouble.

Waki apparently foresaw this possibility, and has recommended that four out of the six judges sitting in the trial chamber and appeals court be foreign.

There is no guarantee that the road to setting up the tribunal will be smooth.

The Waki report, released in October, initially drew widespread criticism from politicians, many of them apparently fearful that their names were included in the envelope.

Some politicians are allegedly still working behind the scenes to sabotage the tribunal.

"We feel strongly... that politicians are trying to scuttle the whole process," Mohammed Duba, spokesman for the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"However, we are warning them ... that we will not fail in publicly condemning them and asking Odinga and Kibaki to implement the report," he added.

While the tribunal is the most high-profile step in ensuring there is no repeat of the violence, other reforms are also underway.

The other commission, headed by South African judge Johann Kriegler, found widespread bribery, vote-buying, intimidation and ballot-stuffing in the disputed elections.

Kriegler recommended sweeping reforms, including the replacement or overhaul of the Kenyan Electoral Commission (ECK) and a new electoral system to replace the current pen-and-paper proceedings.

When delivering his report, Kriegler left little doubt about his views of the importance of changing the system.

"If Kenyans don't address the need to reform, then the events of January 2008 may well look like a Christmas party in 2012," he warned.

Parliament appeared to heed this warning and earlier in December passed a bill to disband the ECK.

However, the ECK is not going out quietly. The sacked commissioners are taking legal advice and plan a court challenge.

Nonetheless, Duba said that despite the attempts to waylay the reform process, the KNCHR believes that the reports will ultimately be implemented.

"There have been clashes before, but we have never seen anything of this magnitude," he said. "We are optimistic because we believe Kenyans have learned from their mistakes." (dpa)