Kenyan Supreme Court Confirms Uhuru Kenyatta as New President

The municipal, legislative and presidential elections in Kenya last March 4 are anything but peaceful. It was the first election in the country since 2007. Late on Saturday afternoon, the Supreme Court of Kenya announced that the election was fair, transparent, credible and free and upheld the poll results. Mr. Uhura Kenyatta and his running mate Willian Ruto are to be sworn in on April 9 as the new President and Vice-President of Kenya respectively. Kenyan Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, who announced the court decision also said that the decisions of the court have been unanimous on all issues, after they have reviewed the case where the opposition challenged the election results. They have called for a new election to be conducted.

The official results say Mr. Kenyatta beat his rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga with a 50.07% vote against 43.28%.

Aftermath

Violence started after the decision was delivered, particularly in the areas that were Mr. Odinga’s stronghold, like Kibera. Mr. Odinga’s supporters reacted angrily to the court decisions. However, Mr. Odinga has calmed the angry mob when he spoke before them, giving a gracious speech that puts ambition after peace. He said he fully accepts that court’s decision and will support the new government.

Questions into the future

Mr. Kenyatta’s win in the polls is not clear-cut. Uncertainty still prevails as there are still unanswered questions about the conduct of the elections. There were also some implications that the electoral commission, the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission), failed during this particular election and what their conduct be on future elections.

The new Kenyan President

Mr. Kenyatta has already been receiving congratulations from international counterparts. He has already made a televised speech, declaring that he would serve all Kenyans without discrimination. He thanked Mr. Odinga during his speech and urged all Kenyans to work together for peace.

Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of the first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta. According to Forbes Magazine, he is an heir to one of Kenya’s largest fortunes. He was groomed by ex-President Daniel arap Moi. He succeeds outgoing president, Mwai Kibaki, who defeated Kenyatta in the 2002 elections.

A dark cloud though hangs over the head of the new president since he had been accused of crimes against humanity related to the post-election violent events after the 2007 elections by the accused by the International Criminal Court or the ICC. He has denied the charges. He is the second African president to be charged by the ICC. The other one was Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.