Last week the world, the African continent and the East African region waited, travel alerts were issued, security forces were put on high alert as Kenya waited for its Supreme Court to pronounce definitively on the August presidential election. On Friday, parties to the contested elections, Raila Odinga, the petitioner and his Azimio coalition and William Ruto, the defendant, as well as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) completed their submissions each arguing their side.
Odinga, the 5-time presidential hopeful challenged the validity of the August 9 polls won by Ruto, arguing that the results were manipulated. August 9 to August 15 was already a overwrought wait as all eyes watched how the country would process results of a historic election, that when the results were announced, it was hoped all would return to normalcy. Kenya is not just East Africa’s largest economy but also the region’s major trade ring granting access to goods imported via the Indian Ocean at the Mombasa port. History has it that instability in Kenya gravely affects economies and livelihoods of the people in the neighbouring countries.
Kenya’s seven Supreme Court of Kenya judges on Monday issued their verdict on the consolidated presidential election petitions, summing up the issues stating that the court was not persuaded by arguments of the petitioner that the technology deployed by the IEBC for the conduct of the elections did not meet the standards of integrity, verifiability, security and transparency to guarantee accurate and verifiable results.
Court also pronounced that it failed to find credible evidence tabled by the petitioner to prove that anyone accessed, intercepted or changed the voter results forms loaded on a public portal by the IEBC.
Further the Supreme Court found no significant differences captured between the forms 34A uploaded on the public portal and the physical forms 34A delivered to the national tallying centre that would have affected the overall outcome of the presidential election.
The Court then dismissed the presidential election petitions, declaring the election of William Ruto as valid.
Immediately after the ruling, Odinga issued a statement, disagreeing with the Court but accepting the ruling, a move that will finally put to rest a matter that has kept the region on tenterhooks. Neighbouring Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni called Mr Ruto, congratulating him on the win and calling on him to work together for the advancement of the region’s interests.
Mr Museveni tweeted: “I rang H.E @WilliamsRuto to congratulate him on Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to uphold his election as the 5th President of Kenya. I look forward to working with him to strengthen our Strategic Partnership in advancing the EAC agenda. God bless the people of Kenya.” Other congratulatory messages by press time continued to flow in from the African Union among many stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Commander of the Land Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba last week vowed to convince his commander in Chief, President Museveni to get involved in the peace making process in Erhiopia. On his twitter handle. Muhoozi, who is also the son to tbe President stated that it was his personal belief that Ethiopia shall achieve peace. “I have managed to convince our revolutionary hero, our prophet, our sage General @KagutaMuseveni to get involved in the peace process. Let us walk into the light and not into the darkness,” Gen Muhoozi stated. Uganda has over the last 2 decades come to be known for aiding countries in ending conflict. Its role in ending the 1994 Rwanda crisis, the South Sudan war, the Burundi conflict and its role in war-torn Somali are well documented.
Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces in Uganda last week retired more than 40 senior army officers from the UPDF. The officers included historical war hero Gen David Sejusa who fought alongside Museveni in the Liberation of Uganda. Addressing the nation after after retirement ceremony, Mr Museveni stated: “As President and Commander in Chief of the UPDF, I am very happy to be part of the process of retirement (with ample benefits), coming to fruition for our comrades; each one of them is a miracle story of sacrifice, courage and service for little to no pay.”
He further stated that Uganda which the retiring officers served long enough to stabilise is now firm enough to take care of them now. He encouraged them to utilise theor retirement benefits wisely in order to make a good contribution to the economy.
“We recognize the strides made to this day, a difference from the past when servicemen were retired by elimination, death or prison sentencing. Even the retired officers under the UPDF before this point have gone home without a good enough package due to constraints before,” Museveni stated.
