Kenya’s defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga said Monday he respected a ruling by the Supreme Court that upheld victory for his electoral rival William Ruto, but added that he disagreed “vehemently” with the verdict.
“We have always stood for the rule of law and the constitution. In this regard, we respect the opinion of the court although we vehemently disagree with their decision today,” he said in a statement after a unanimous decision by the court.
It was fifth time unlucky for Odinga, the 77-year-old veteran opposition leader who had run in the August 9 election with the backing of his former foe, the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.
After results showed him losing by less than two percentage points, Odinga had filed a petition alleging fraud in the vote tallying process and complaining about the management of the poll by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
“Our lawyers proffered irrefutable evidence and the facts were on our side, unfortunately the judges saw it otherwise,” Odinga said.
“The judgement is by no means the end of our movement. In fact it inspires us to redouble our efforts to transform this country into a prosperous democracy,” he added, saying his camp would be communicating its plans “in the near future”.
Both Ruto and Odinga had vowed to respect the court’s ruling, with memories still raw of deadly violence that marred previous election disputes in East Africa’s most vibrant democracy.
