‘Jail’ electoral officials
Insists Kenya’s Odinga
KENYA’S veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for members of its electoral commission to be jailed after the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that last month’s elections be annulled on the basis they were not conducted according to the Constitution and Elections Act.
“They have committed criminal acts. Most of them belong in jail and we are going to ask prosecution for all the electoral commission officials who have committed this monstrous crime against the people of Kenya,” Odinga said.
Earlier, the opposition candidate praised the decision to annul the elections which saw incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta win a second term in office.
As his supporters took to the streets throughout the country to celebrate the court’s decision, Kenya made history as the first country in Africa to annul a presidential election.
“The annulment is a historic day for the people of Kenya. This is a precedent-setting ruling. This is a triumph for the people of Kenya.”
Lawyers for Kenyatta are calling the nullification a “very political decision” but they say they will live with the consequences. Later, Kenyatta said he disagreed with the ruling, but that he would respect the decision and urged citizens to do the same.
“The court has made its decision. We respect it. We don’t agree with it. Again, I say peace… peace, peace, peace,” he said in a televised address. “That is the nature of democracy”.
Announcing the verdict of four out of the six judges, Judge David Maraga said “the declaration of Kenyatta’s win was invalid, null and void”.
“The election commission failed, neglected or refused to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution,” added Maraga.
The court ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to conduct fresh polls in 60 days.
According to official figures released by the commission, Kenyatta secured 54.27% of vote, while Odinga, won 44.74%, in the August 8 polls.
Shortly after the results were announced, Odinga claimed the electoral commission’s IT system had been hacked to manipulate the results, and took his complaints of fraud to seven Supreme Court judges amid fears among Kenyans that renewed violence would break out if he lost his attempt to overturn the results.
It is the third time in a row that Odinga has cried foul, after claiming he was cheated out of rightful victories in 2007 and 2013.
The chairman of Kenya’s election board said yesterday it would make personnel changes and prosecute any staff involved in deliberate tampering with last month’s vote, after the court declared it invalid.
“To protect the integrity of sovereign will of the people the commission intends to make internal changes to personnel,” said chairperson Wafula Chebukati, who said he was not resigning.
The US ambassador and other diplomats say the ruling “has demonstrated Kenya’s resilient democracy and commitment to the rule of law”. – ANA-dpa, Reuters