President, amid disputed vote, wins re-election
NAIROBI, Kenya — President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner Friday of Kenya’s hard-fought presidential election, but opposition candidate Raila Odinga alleged the voting was rigged.
In announcing the results of Tuesday’s contest, the election commission said Kenyatta won a second term with 54 percent in balloting it called “credible, fair and peaceful.”
Hundreds of riot officers were in the streets of the capital, Nairobi, amid fears of further protests by opposition supporters, who called the vote a “charade” and said challenging the outcome in court isn’t an option.
Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of Kenya’s first president after independence from Britain, appealed for calm and unity after the bitter campaign.
“Kenya belongs to all of us,” he said. “Let us shun violence, and let us refuse to be used for short-term political gain.”
He said he is extending a “hand of friendship” to “our older brother,” Odinga.
“We need and must continue to work together for the welfare of our people and in order to keep this country united,” said Kenyatta, who also defeated Odinga in 2013. “We reach out to you. We reach out to your supporters.”
The election was a test of the stability of the East African economic power as many recalled the postelection bloodshed a decade ago that left more than 1,000 dead.
“We have seen the results of political violence and I am certain there is no single Kenyan who would wish to go back to those days,” Kenyatta said.
Although celebrations by backers of Kenyatta were reported in several cities across Kenya, gunshots and screams were heard in at least two areas populated by Odinga supporters, according to police and a witness.
The gunfire rang out in the Nairobi slum of Kibera and in the southwestern city of Kisumu, the witnesses said. Youths also were reported to be throwing stones at cars in Kibera.
“There are gunshots all over; we don’t know how it will end but we are praying for peace,” said Kisumu resident Lucas Odhiambo, adding that people were bellowing through vuvuzela noisemakers when the results were announced “and police moved in.”
Earlier in the day, opposition supporters burned tires and blocked roads in several areas.
The election commission rejected claims by Odinga, a former prime minister, that its database was hacked and results manipulated against him.