The Kenyan government has appointed former ambassador Bethwell Kiplagat to replace Elijah Mwangale as special envoy to the Somalia peace process.
The Sunday Standard daily reported that the change is meant to inject new momentum into the Somalia peace talks, which are being held in Kenya's western city of Eldoret.
The talks have been engulfed by confusion over the modalities of participation and funding, with Somali participants accusing Mwangale of mismanaging the talks.
Mwangale had served as the chief mediator of the talks, for he was the chairman of the technical committee of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development that organized the talks.
This round of peace talks on Somalia started in Eldoret on Oct.15 last year, and Somali faction leaders reached a ceasefire agreement on Oct. 27. However, incidents of violating the agreement have been frequently reported.
Somalia has been without central government since the 1991 overthrow of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
A transitional government set up in August 2000 is based in Mogadishu but controls only parts of the capital and pockets of the rest of the country.