Kenya Supreme Court has rejected Raila Odinga’s challenge to the presidential election result meaning that Willian Ruto is confirmed as the winner of the 9 August poll and is the president-elect.
No evidence 50%-plus-one threshold was not met
The Kenyan Supreme Court finds that petitioners did not provide a watertight case for the nullification of results on the basis that the 50%-plus-one constitutional threshold for an outright win was not met.
It says that William Ruto did get more than 50% plus one votes.
Stinging words for challengers of election result
The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the outcome of last month’s presidential election.
Chief Justice Martha Koome dismissed all claims by Raila Odinga and other petitioners and said they failed to prove their claims.
In a strongly worded judgement, the court rejected the evidence and arguments by the petitioners, which it described at one point as “hot air, red herrings and forgeries”.
On the four of seven commissioners of the electoral body who disowned the results, the court asked: “Are we to nullify the outcome of an election on the basis of a last-minute boardroom rupture whose details remain scanty?”
The judges found that it would amount to upsetting the sovereign will of the people.
President-elect William Ruto will be sworn in next Tuesday as prescribed by the constitution.
This was Raila Odinga’s fifth unsuccessful bid to become president, and in his words, at the age of 77, the final attempt.
