Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Kenyatta’s presidential win

NAIROBI, (Reuters) - Kenya’s Supreme Court yesterday upheld the re- election of President Uhuru Kenyatta in last month’s repeat presidential vote, paving the way for him to be sworn in next week.

Chief Justice David Maraga said all six judges dismissed the two legal challenges to the vote. The opposition coalition NASA insisted the government was illegitimate.

Kenyatta’s main challenger, NASA’s Raila Odinga, said via his adviser Salim Lone that the ruling “did not come as a surprise” and said “it was a decision taken under duress”.

“We in NASA had repeatedly declared before this Supreme Court ruling today that we consider this government to be illegitimate and do not recognise it. This position has not been changed by the court ruling,” the statement said.

It referred to security concerns raised by the opposition about the judges after one of their bodyguards was shot the day before the court was to rule on a request to delay the vote.

The chief justice said at the time police had “enhanced” security after the shooting. The court could not immediately be reached on Monday to comment on NASA’s allegation.

Monday’s ruling clears the way for Kenyatta’s swearing-in on Nov. 28, but it is unlikely to end the worst political crisis in East Africa’s most developed economy in a decade. Sporadic clashes erupted in proopposition areas after the ruling.

Odinga had called for a “National Resistance Movement” after Kenyatta’s victory last month. Kenyatta had said he would not engage in dialogue with the opposition until “constitutional options” had been exhausted.

The prolonged election process has disrupted the economy and forced the government to cut its growth forecast. Rights groups say at least 66 people have died in bloodshed surrounding the votes in August and October.

The petitioners had argued that the outcome should be voided because the election board did not seek fresh nominations after the Aug. 8 poll was invalidated, and because the vote was not held in each of the 291 constituencies.

The Supreme Court ordered the Oct. 26 election after nullifying the results of the August election, citing irregularities in the tallying of votes - an unprecedented move on the continent.

The opposition boycotted the poll, which Kenyatta won with 98 percent of the vote. Some opposition supporters mobilised to prevent polls from opening in the west of the country.