Opposition leader Raila Odinga has told foreign countries to keep off Kenyan politics and to stop congratulating President-Elect Dr. William Ruto who was declared winner of the August 9 presidential polls last Monday.
Odinga who flew the Azimio La Umoja presidential flag wants the foreign countries to wait for the ruling from the Supreme Court that is set to hear and determine the petition case he filed on August 22.
“We would like to urge our foreign partners who are here to be calm. They should not be involved in our political matters. They should allow Kenyans to solve their issues as Kenyans …. We are confident that our evidence will prove that we are the ones who won the 2022 elections),”Odinga said.
Odinga threw his salvos after the UK Ambassador to Kenya Jane Marriott reminded Azimio bloggers that the UK and herself did not have a preferred candidate in the recently held general elections.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I want to categorically reiterate that the United Kingdom does not support or have a view on any candidates or parties in elections. Who Kenyans elect is a matter for the people of Kenya,” she said
But Odinga’s comments are casting aspersions on his relationship with the Western nations. He used to be the darling to the west beith relationshi is headed south. No foreign nation seems motivated to entertain his sideshows after he failed to ascend to presidency for the fifth time.
The conman brought Dick Morris to Kenya as a political strategist and insisted on Johan Kriegler to investigate the 2007 election. He wanted a jurist from the West as Kenya's CJ under the new Constitution. He worships white people. The hypocrite now tells the West to keep off.
— Dr. Miguna Miguna (@MigunaMiguna) August 23, 2022
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya (IEBC) declared Dr. Ruto the fifth president of Kenya after he garnered 7,176,141 (50.49%) to beat Odinga who managed some 6,942,930 (48.85%).
Odinga who enjoyed the backing of the government and President Uhuru Kenya has filed a petition to challenge President-Elect Dr. Ruto’s win at the Supreme Court of Kenya amid mounting pressure to concede and let Kenyans to move on.
The 78 year old politician and his co-petitioner Martha Karua have branded the August 9 polls a “travesty” as they seek 23 reliefs, including an order to audit IEBC servers and a recount of rejected and spoilt votes.
This petition is Odinga’s last resort to remain relevant in Kenyan politics. He is also pushing the court to order for scrutiny and forensic audit of the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (Kiems) kits, IEBC website and portal and Forms 34A, 34B and 34C.
Odinga wants presidency, not through ballot but the court. He wants the seven judge bench to nullify Ruto’s election and announce him (Odinga) the winner or IEBC be compelled to organize fresh presidential elections and Mr Chebukati should preside over those elections.
“The petition is about the forces of democracy who are pushing for good governance against cartels of corruption, who can stop at nothing to ensure that they take the leadership of the country by all means,” Odinga said.
The ODM leader has never conceded defeat in all the five presidential contests he lost to different candidates including1997 when came a distance third to Daniel Moi.
Odinga has flatly rejected all the presidential results and sometimes resorted to chaos and violence but this is the third time he is challenging the outcome at the Supreme Court.
MALEMA: Mr. Odinga must humble himself, and from part of a government that will address the challenges confronting the people of Kenya, and not allow history to remember him as an individual who was desperate for power, at the cost of the progress of his nation.#EFFPresser
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) August 23, 2022
International Human Rights Foundation recently urged Odinga to concede defeat arguing that he has the democratic responsibility of accepting the results because the IEBC conducted a transparent and verifiable elections.
“The results of the Kenyan Election are clear and verified by the electoral authority (@IEBCKenya), which has proclaimed William Ruto president-elect,” IHRF tweeted.
Only Odinga and the Azimio chairman are not satisfied with the August 9 elections, the outcome and how peacefully they were conducted. They have been termed as transparent by various independent observer groups including Elections Observation Group (ELOG) which reported that the results announced by the IEBC tallied with its own projections.
“Of these, 1000 Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) observers were carefully recruited, specially trained and deployed to a nationally representative random sample of polling stations,” said Anne Ireri, ELOG chairperson.
And East Africa Community (EAC) Observer Mission team which was led by former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kiwete also lauded the IEBC for conducting a smooth exercise.
Leader across the world including African and European leaders have congratulated Kenya’s President-elect Dr. William Ruto winning the August 9, 2022 presidential election.
“The Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Kenya has the honour to congratulate H.E. Dr. William Samoei Ruto upon the announcement of him being elected as President of Kenya.
“We are confident that the friendly relations between our two countries and peoples will be reinvigorated and further strengthened.” the statement read.
