Losers of election refuse to ‘accept and move on’
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s opposition will challenge the results of last week’s presidential election in Supreme Court and wage a campaign of civil disobedience, its leader announced Wednesday, saying they intend to expose a “computer-generated presidency.”
Raila Odinga told reporters that Kenyans won’t willingly go along with “democracy’s slaughter.”
His comments had the potential to set off another wave of protests in the capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere that already have led to at least two dozen people shot dead by police since the Aug. 8 vote, according to one prominent Kenyan human rights group.
Odinga has claimed that the election results were hacked and rigged in favor of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won a second term with 54 percent of the vote. Odinga claims the hackers used the identity of Christopher Msando, an election official in charge of the electronic voting sysmade tem who was tortured and killed shortly before the vote.
Kenya’s election commission has said there was a hacking attempt but it failed, and election observers have said they saw no signs of interference with the vote. The opposition has not presented any evidence to back up its claims of voterigging but it said Wednesday it would do so in court.
The opposition last week said going to court was not an option, but Odinga on Wednesday it clear they had changed their minds.
“We will not accept and move on,” he said. “We shall hold vigils, moments of silence, beat drums and do everything else to draw attention to the gross electoral injustices.”
The opposition has until the end of Friday to file a petition challenging the vote results.
Odinga’s court challenge after losing the 2013 election to Kenyatta was unsuccessful.