Kenya’s top court upholds Ruto's victory in Aug. 9 presidential election

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By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – In a unanimous verdict, Kenya’s top court on Monday upheld William Ruto's win in the Aug. 9 presidential election, dismissing nine petitions seeking to nullify the result.

His rival, 77-year-old Raila Odinga, had alleged massive fraud in the last month's election, calling them "flawed" and a "major setback" to democracy in the East African country.

Leading a 7-member judge, Chief Justice Martha Koome said Ruto was properly elected president, who received 7.18 million votes, or 50.49% of the total, in the closely fought election. Odinga, meanwhile, got 48.85% or over 6.94 million votes.

“The court found that the illegalities and irregularities pointed out by the petitioners were not of such magnitude as to affect the final result of the presidential election,” Koome said. “We declare the election of 1st respondent [William Ruto] as president-elect to be valid under Article 140(3) of the Constitution."

The court said it is not convinced that the technology used by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the country’s electoral commission, did not meet legal standards as claimed by the petitioners.

There was no credible evidence that electoral forms were accessed and tempered with before being uploaded to the servers of the electoral commission, the top court said.

The chief justice said a full judgment would be issued in three weeks' time.

Five-time presidential candidate Odinga, who had filed legal challenges in 2013 and 2017 as well, said he will respect the court's decision.

"We have always stood for the rule of law and the Constitution. In this regard, we respect the opinion of the court although we vehemently disagree with their decision,” Odinga said in a statement.

World leaders, including those from Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, congratulated Ruto, 55, for his win ahead of next week’s swearing in ceremony.

African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat also congratulated Ruto and thanked Odinga, "for respecting the Supreme Court ruling.”