Kenya Supreme Court upholds election rerun, sparking celebrations, protests

NAIROBI — Kenya’s Supreme Court upheld the reelection of President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, paving the way for his inauguration even as the opposition remains defiant.

Chief Justice David Maraga threw out the cases by three petitioners that sought to invalidate the results of the Oct. 26 election rerun, saying their arguments were without merit.

The unanimous decision may bring an end to months of instability after the original Aug. 8 presidential election was invalidated, but opposition protests immediately broke out in this deeply divided country.

Police engaged in running battles in the slum of Kibera with protesters and a boy was killed by a stray bullet according to witnesses.

The court shocked Kenya and much of the continent on Sept. 1 when it invalidated Kenyatta’s win on the grounds of irregularities, forcing the election to be re-held.

Kenyatta’s main rival, Raila Odinga, however, pulled out of the rerun at the last minute saying the new elections would be flawed as well since the commission overseeing the contest had not been reformed.

The election went ahead and Kenyatta won by a landslide, though voting did not take place in a number of opposition districts.

In Odinga latest statement, he dismissed the court decision, saying it was made under coercion and insisted that the government and the election were still illegitimate.

“It was a decision taken under duress. We do not condemn the court, we sympathize with it,” said the statement.

In the wake of the verdict, celebrations immediately broke out outside the court where supporters of Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party had gathered, decked out in the party colors and waving Kenyan flags.

There were celebrations in other party strongholds around the city, as well.

“It is time to move forward — he is the best leader compared to Odinga that can lead us into prosperity,” said Josphat Ngumi in Nairobi’s city center. “Leaders should now work on healing the ethnic divide that they have created to access their various political mileage.”

The months between the elections and the court decisions have seen repeated demonstrations by Odinga’s supporters and following the court decision, there were outbursts in opposition strongholds like the city of Kisumu in the west.

The roughly even division between Kenyatta and Odinga supporters is based largely on ethnic lines, between the Kenyatta’s Kikuyu tribe and Odinga’s Luo, raising the fears of ethnic clashes.

In Nairobi’s Kibera slum, the scene of many clashes between police and opposition supporters, merchants began removing their wares from their shops out of fears of unrest.

Dozens have been killed during demonstrations since the August election and police have been accused of using excessive force with Odinga supporters.

George Owino, a Kibera resident, said the planned inauguration of Kenyatta on Thursday should not go forward.

“If they swear in Kenyatta, we hope to swear in Odinga,” he said.

.

Read more:

Kenya’s presidential vote could send the country into a political crisis

Kenya election thrown into turmoil as top opposition candidate withdraws

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read Again https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/kenya-supreme-court-upholds-election-rerun-sparking-protests-celebrations/2017/11/20/f906e310-cdd2-11e7-9d3a-bcbe2af58c3a_story.html

Bagikan Berita Ini