Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta election win

Kenya's Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta election win
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, speaks to the media at State House in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Kenya's president said Thursday the nullification of his re-election is a blow to the democratic ideals Kenyans fought for, describing it "as a judicial coup", while the electoral commission announced that it has moved the date for a fresh presidential election to Oct 26. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday 20th, November 2017 dismissed two petitions to overturn the country’s October 26 presidential election re-run, validating the poll victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“The court has unanimously determined that the petitions are not merited. As a consequence, the presidential election of 26 October is hereby upheld as is the election of the third respondent,” said Chief Justice David Maraga, referring to Kenyatta.

The ruling paves the way for Kenyatta to be sworn in on November 28, bringing to a close what has been a divisive and bloody election process.

Maraga had in September annulled an August 8 election due to “irregularities and illegalities”, in a historic decision hailed across the globe as an opportunity to deepen Kenyan democracy.

But the ruling only deepened acrimony, sparking further protests as opposition leader Raila Odinga decided to boycott the October vote — handing Kenyatta a 98 percent victory.

Raila Odinga’s adviser Salim Lone reacts after Supreme Court upholds Uhuru’s win

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, which did not come as a surprise. It was a decision taken under duress. We do not condemn the Court, we sympathize with it.

The Court today met under severely constrained circumstances, having failed to raise a quorum over serious security concerns following the shooting and wounding of the Deputy Chief Justice’s driver/bodyguard before a crucial pre-October 26th election hearing.

As such, the Court’s decision today could not possibly legitimize an illegitimate government whose president had publicly accused the Court of having carried out a “coup” by annulling his election and threatened to “fix” the justices once he was back in power.