Top court upholds Kenyatta reelection
Kenyan justices dismiss opposition’s legal challenges to last month’s revote
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld the reelection 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 National Super Alliance (NASA), a coalition of opposition parties, insisted that the government was illegitimate.
Kenyatta’s main challenger, NASA’s Raila Odinga, said in a statement by his adviser Salim Lone that the ruling “did not come as a surprise” and that “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 recognize 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 deliberate on an 11th-hour request to delay last month’s election.
The chief justice said at the time that 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 November 28, but it is unlikely to end the worst political crisis in East Africa’s most developed economy in a decade.
Residents in the western city of Kisumu, where Odinga has strong backing, barricaded roads in protest of the court’s decision, and police later fired in the air to disperse them, according to a Reuters witness.
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 August 8 poll was invalidated and because the vote was not held in each of the 291 constituencies.
The repeat election on October 26 had been ordered by the Supreme Court, after it nullified 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% of the vote. Some opposition supporters mobilized to prevent polls from opening in the western part of the country.
“The court has unanimously determined that the petitions are not merited,” Maraga said. “As a consequence, the presidential election of 26th of October is hereby upheld.”
The court did not detail its reasons. It said it would issue a full judgment within 21 days. The decision was met with applause in the courtroom from lawyers for the election commission and Kenyatta. The commission said the ruling affirmed its “resolve and deliberate efforts to conduct free, fair and credible elections.”
Kenya, a US ally in the fight against Islamists, and a trade gateway to East Africa, has a history of disputed elections. A row over a 2007 poll, which Odinga challenged after being declared loser, was followed by weeks of ethnic bloodshed that killed more than 1,200 people.
Police said on Sunday that at least four people were killed overnight in a Nairobi opposition stronghold.
Odinga accused the government of being OPPOSITION SUPPORTERS set a car on fire in the port city of Kisumu, after Kenya’s Supreme Court upheld the reelection of President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday following a contentious series of votes. behind the killings, which followed at least five deaths on Friday, as police tried to disperse opposition supporters. Deputy President William Ruto said action would be taken against those inciting violence.
In several areas of the capital, riots broke out on Sunday in response to the deaths, as residents set cars and buses on fire and police responded with tear gas. On Monday, in the slum of Mathare, where violence had erupted over the weekend, police deployed in large numbers after the ruling but there were no skirmishes.
Outside the court in Nairobi, Kenyatta supporters waved Kenyan flags and danced, and celebrations broke out in the central city of Nyeri, a ruling party stronghold.
In downtown Nairobi, Elvis Kinyanjui, a vendor selling socks and watches, said he hoped that “next year business will be back to normal. Everyone is holding on to their shilling not knowing what tomorrow will be like,” he said.