Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya leader Raila Odinga has said he accepts the verdict of the Supreme Court of Kenya on the presidential election but doesn’t agree with it.
Seven Supreme Court judges on Monday, September 5 unanimously upheld William Ruto’s victory in the August 9 presidential petition, saying Odinga’s legal team did not produce evidence to warrant nullification of the election.
The judges are Martha Koome (Chief Justice), Philomena Mwilu (Deputy Chief Justice), Mohammed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, Isaac Lenaona and William Ouko.
Odinga, who challenged Ruto’s victory in court, said it was “incredible” that all the nine key grounds on which he sought nullification of the president-elect’s win were thrown out.
The former prime minister’s team had argued that some forms 34A were intercepted mid-air and changed before being rerouted to the IEBC portal.
On this claim, the Supreme Court ruled that Odinga’s legal team did not provide any evidence to prove the allegation, saying the IEBC showed that the election technology was secure, verifiable and transparent.
The court also established that Ruto was validly elected as president by getting at least 50 per cent plus one vote.
“We respect the opinion of the court although we vehemently disagree with their decision today,” Odinga said in a press statement on Monday, September 5.
“Our lawyers proffered irrefutable evidence and the facts were on our side, unfortunately, the judges saw it otherwise. We find it incredible that the judges found against us all nine grounds and occasion resulted to unduly exaggerated language to refute our claims,” said Odinga.
The Azimio leader urged his supporters to remain calm, saying he’ll give directions later.
“We thank our supporters and Kenyans across the country for standing with us. We will be communicating in the near future on our plans to continue our struggle for transparency, accountability and democracy,” Odinga said.
Ruto, who ran on UDA ticket, got 7.18 million votes (50.49 per cent) against Odinga’s 6.94 million (48.85 per cent).
The president-elect, as per the law, will now be sworn in as Kenya’s fifth president on Tuesday, September 13, which is seven days after the Supreme Court renders it verdict. By Winfrey Owino, The Standard
