Kenyans and the International community are waiting eagerly for the decision of the Supreme Court of Kenya (SCOK) vis-a-vis the presidential election petition.
Raila Odinga, the country’s veteran politician filed the case on the 22nd of August seeking to negate William Ruto’s victory, which Odinga termed a “travesty”.
On 15 August, Wafula Chebukati, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman declared Kenya Kwanza’s candidate William Ruto as president-elect and his running mate Rigathi Gachagua as the deputy president-elect, respectively.
Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes, representing 50.49 per cent of valid votes cast, beating his rival Azimio la Umoja flag bearer Raila Odinga who had 6,942,930 votes (48.85 per cent).
Four of the seven IEBC commissioners distanced themselves from the results, terming the process “opaque”.
In the last week, lawyers of Odinga, Ruto and IEBC battled out in the apex court, in an effort to see their clients win.
Raila Odinga and Martha Karua, Azimio la Umoja’s presidential candidate and running mate respectively for the August 9th challenged Ruto’s victory and wanted it quashed by the apex court. They said Ruto’s narrow victory was unjust as it had substantial and significant irregularities.
Ruto called Odinga’s petition a “tragicomedy” full of “lies and fiction”, and ” much ado about nothing”.
The court ordered presidential election results for 40 polling stations be recounted. The report of the exercise was delivered to the judges and the petitioners and the respondents of the case. Without a doubt, the report will play a vital role in the outcome of the court’s verdict.
The court also ordered the electoral agency to give Odinga access to its results transmission servers, a thing an order that was obeyed halfway. IEBC only allowed Odinga to access several of the servers.
Smartmatic International Holding B.V, the supplier of voting technology to IEBC said providing full access to servers hosting Form 34C would infringe its intellectual property rights.
“As per your request regarding the provision of images of NTC server(s), we would like to clarify that such images contain software owned and copyrighted by Smartmatic and are thus IP protected. Providing full access would infringe our intellectual property rights,” read the letter signed by F. Gunnik, the company’s managing director.
Deputy Chief Justice and vice President of the Supreme Court Philomena Mwilu Friday asked Kenyans to pray for judges as they retreated to write judgement on the case.
“Pray that we shall have a very high sense of discernment and that we shall return to Kenyans a judgment not less than what they expect,” Lady Justice Mwilu said.
Chief Justice Martha Koome also asked Kenyans to “pray for us so that we can render judgment that promotes our Constitution that is anchored in the law, that nurtures our democracy, that brings harmony to our country and everything good stated in our Constitution”.
The Court is likely to either uphold the declaration of Ruto as President-elect or invalidate it. In an event that Ruto’s victory is upheld, he and Rigathi Gachagua, his deputy will have the legal green light to be sworn in as president and deputy president respectively.
In case Ruto and Gachagua’s victory is invalidated, the country will go back to the ballot to vote again for a new president.
Meanwhile, hours to the verdict, tension is palpable with vacillating reactions from different sections of Kenyans.
Davis Malombe, the executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission said in a recent media interview that elections have often caused human rights abuses, loss of lives, and serious injury; and urged the court to “remain impartial”. Malombe, whose KHRC is also pushing for the nullification of the presidential election, said that the peace of the nation rested on the court’s verdict.
Azimio TV, the official Twitter account of Azimio la Umoja posted on Saturday posted a tweet calling for a peaceful march on Monday by Odinga’s supporters.
“This Monday all Azimio supporters are invited to a peaceful march to the city center of Nairobi. In honour of our great journey and push for justice,” the tweet which was later deleted read.
Meanwhile, the United States embassy in Kenya on September 1st issued a security alert for U.S. Citizens in the country ahead of the Supreme Court ruling.
“Kenya has periodically experienced some post-electoral violence during election cycles,” the statement read in part.
Election-related demonstrations and rallies regularly take place after elections, at times blocking key intersections and causing traffic Jams. Demonstrations may occasionally be violent, requiring police intervention. Strikes and other protest activities related to economic conditions occur regularly, the statement stated.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the US government has imposed movement restrictions on US government personnel in Kisumu. The State Department reminds US citizens of the continued need for sustained vigilance,” the security advisory read.
Consequently, the US asked its citizens to monitor local media for updates, avoid crowds, and demonstrations and have travel documents up to date and easily accessible. The US citizens were also asked to keep a low profile and be vigilant when visiting banks of ATMs.
In response to the advisory, the County Government of Kisumu complained and protested the US government for singling out Kisumu as a possible source of chaos ahead of the Supreme Court of Kenya ruling.
John Oywa, the director of the public information and communication in the county, said in a statement Friday that lakeside city does not expect any form of violence whatever the outcome of the Supreme Court on the August 9 Presidential Elections results.
“As much as we acknowledge the Country’s concern on the safety of its citizens, we take exceptional concern at the tone of the memo which singles out Kisumu and suggests that the City could witness violence after the 5th September Supreme court ruling on the Presidential election petition,” Oywa said.
He added that Kisumu is a “multiracial and multi-ethnic peaceful community that cares deeply for each other’s welfare, including our American sisters and brothers.”
However, he called on the residents to remain calm regardless of the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling.
Saturday 3rd, Raila Odinga posted a 13 seconds video on his Twitter account. The video has a soundtrack of words of the National Anthem– Justice be our shield and defender. The video also had the national flag and the words– At the Supreme Court of Justice. The hashtag #TheDawnOfJustice capped off the tweet.
The National Police Service also released a statement Saturday to address the security concern ahead of the SCOK verdict.
The police said it had taken all the necessary steps and measures to enhance security in all parts of the country, including all critical infrastructure. The police asked the public to keep calm and “not to migrate from their homes or ordinary places of residence in fear and anticipation of chaos”.
The communique further appealed to the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with the law enforcement and other security agencies by reporting any suspicious activities within their areas.
The Noor Gabow signed statement advised the public from gathering at the SCOK on Monday, the judgment day. Instead, the general public was advised to follow the proceedings from the comfort of their homes.
“Access to the Supreme Court shall be limited to the public, and all roads leading to the court premises shall remain closed. Traffic police officers shall be deployed adequately to direct traffic around the Court facility,” the statement concluded.