The Supreme Court in Kenya has dismissed Raila Odinga’s presidential election challenge and has confirmed the election of William Ruto as President of Kenya.
The Supreme Court led by Chef Justice Martha Koome has announced its ruling on th 9 August presidential elections this afternoon.
On August 15, Deputy President of Kenya Ruto, 55, was declared as the winner of the presidential election after taking 50.49% of the vote.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati said Ruto got 7,176,141 votes while second placed Raila Odinga managed 6,942,930 which represents 48.85%.
Odinga took the matter to the court alleging that massive fraud, including tampering with results forms, had taken place. He further argued that Ruto did not meet the 50 percent plus one threshold to be declared winner in the first round.
The petition challenging the elections has been dismissed in a unanimous decision by the seven Judges of the Supreme Court
Koome said the court found that some of the allegations were based on forged documents and “sensational information”.
She added that there was no credible evidence that the electronic voting transmission system was tampered with by a middle man and that no evidence was submitted to show that William Ruto did not attain the 50 percent plus one vote requirement.
On four commissioner who broke away from the seven-member IEBC and said they had not endorsed the results, Koome said the four actively participated in the tallying and verification exercise from the beginning until just before declaration of the final results by the Chairperson.
“Are we to nullify an election on the basis of a last-minute boardroom rupture? To do this would be tantamount to subjecting the sovereign will of the Kenyan people to the quorum antics of IEBC, this we cannot do,” Koome said.
Reacting to the ruling, Odinga’s running mate Martha Karua said she does not agree with the judgement.
The court has spoken. I respect but disagree with the findings .
— Martha Karua SC (@MarthaKarua) September 5, 2022
Following the ruling, Ruto will be sworn in as the country’s fifth president next week.
