By Uhuru Kenyatta, the standing temporary President of Kenya responded on Sunday, to the petition filed against his 26 October repeat polls’ win and explained that his long time rival, Raila Odinga must be the one pushing on the petitioners.
Mr. Kenyatta is considered a temporary President of Kenya until his win will be validated by the Supreme Court and sworn in afterwards, and he has been one since August.
In defense of his win, Mr. Kenyatta stated that the three petitioners that filed a petition challenging his presidential win are not doing it for the people of Kenya or in people’s interest, but for the benefit of Raila Odinga and Kalonzo, who are pushing it all.
In a 24-page response to the petition by Njonjo Mue and Khalef Khalifa seeking to nullify his re-election, the President brands the two as “surrogates, agents, and mouth-pieces” of the National Super Alliance (NASA) and its leaders.
‘From the outset, I must state that the petition was filed in bad faith at the behest of NASA to nullify the October 26 presidential results for the benefit of Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka. Their petition consists of flip-flops and distorted narrative which do not present the true position,’ said Mr. Kenyatta.
He further defended his re-election in the repeat presidential election and said that the whole process was conducted in a free, fair and credible manner just as had been ordered by the Supreme Court earlier.
The President explained that the fact that the voting was not conducted in 27 constituencies is not anyone’s fault other than the opposition led by Raila Odinga, who asked his supporters to boycott. He also stated that despite the 27 constituencies not voting, this fact doesn’t affect his win in any way.
‘Prior to declaration of the successful candidate in the fresh presidential election, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati legally invoked the Elections Act to declare a return of results without the 27 constituencies which in any way could not affect the final results,’ said Uhuru.
Mr. Kenyatta added that the petitioners’ plan is only to frustrate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), under the influence of NASA. He later commended the IEBC for the job greatly done, of conducting the election amid demonstrations and boycott sagas.
He also pointed out that Ms. Roselyne Akombe’s resignation from the IEBC and the infighting between the IEBC officials also has absolutely nothing to do with his repeat poll win.
He added that Ms. Akomba had earlier informed that the IEBC was ready to conduct a credible election, before her resignation.
‘Two weeks before her resignation, Akombe confirmed to the public that IEBC was ready and fully prepared for the elections and gave a comprehensive overview of the commission’s readiness. Her resignation could not therefore mean the commission was all of a sudden not ready for the exercise,’ he explained.
The President further informed that the petition filed against his win at the Supreme Court is baseless and judicial time wasting, and so asked the Court to dismiss it and declare that he was fairly, legally and validly re-elected the President of Kenya.
Correspondent: Shamilah Namuddu