Kenya’s Supreme Court unanimously affirmed William Ruto’s declaration as the victor of the country’s presidential elections, rejecting opposition candidate Raila Odinga’s assertions that the electoral process was tainted by rigging.
The election, according to Chief Justice Martha Koome, was free, fair, transparent, and credible. Raila Odinga, joined by seven other petitions, demanded that the election results be annulled due to widespread fraud. Odinga claimed that the electoral commission’s chairman, Wafula Chebukati, staged a civilian coup, that election technology was hacked, and that votes were taken away from him and given to his opponent.
After three days of case hearing, a seven-judge court ruled that the eight petitions calling for the elections to be canceled were “without merit”.
The Supreme Court had identified 9 major issues including reliefs that should be given to the court. CJ Martha Koome while reading the judgment dismissed all of them in support of IEBC hence upholding Ruto’s win.
The court-ordered partial recount discovered procedural errors but no vote tally differences significant enough to alter the final result.
This year’s election passed peacefully and the now official election of William Ruto will see him get sworn in on Tuesday, 13th September 2022.
