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BREAKING NEWS: Kenya Supreme Court Upholds Presidential Election Results Declaring Ruto As President Elect, Says No Evidence-50% Plus-One Threshold Not Met

Kenya’s Supreme Court, presided over by Martha Koome, chief justice, Monday, September 5, 2022, unanimously upheld the election of William Ruto as the validly elected president of Kenya in a unanimous delivered judgment in a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the results of last month’s presidential election.
Metrobusinessnews.com reports that the opposition leader Raila Odinga, who failed to secure the presidency on his fifth attempt, along with six other parties, petitioned the court to nullify Ruto’s win, alleging there were massive irregularities that compromised the fairness of the Aug. 9 vote.

 The official results showed Ruto secured 50.1% support and Odinga 48.8%, a development that left the East African nation in political limbo, until Monday’s ruling.

But the court dismissed the nine allegations by the petitioner and took time to explain the reasons for its decision.

Nigerian observers hail the timely judgement, within the 14 day requirement as instructive to the country and the world.

With the court’s ruling upholding Ruto’s win, the president elect is expected to be swon in on Sept 13.

 

The Man William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto

He was born on December 21,1966.
He is a Kenyan politician who was the 11th Deputy President of Kenya as well as the president-elect of Kenya.
He previously served in several cabinet positions such as the Minister for Home Affairs from August to December 2002, the Minister of Agriculture from 2008 to 2010 and as Minister for Higher Education from April to October 2010
He is married to Rachel Chebet with seven children
Several previous election disputes in Kenya have degenerated into violence, the worst of which occurred in 2007 and claimed the lives of at least 1,100 people.

Although the current electoral process has been largely peaceful, investors are watching closely for any potential unrest.

Martha Koome:
The current Chief Justice of Kenya is Martha Koome, the first woman to serve as Chief Justice in that country.

Koome, appointed in May 2021 by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, has a reputation for integrity.

Months after her appointment, she quashed broad constitutional reforms backed by both Odinga and Kenyatta, which were widely seen as an attempt to sideline Ruto.

Kenyatta fell out with Ruto after the 2017 elections and formed an alliance with Odinga.

Koome’s ruling prompted praise even from critics like Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a lawyer who has frequently questioned Koome’s independence and who supports Ruto.

“On the whole, good judgment by the Supreme Court,” he tweeted, praising Koome and a second judge for being”outstanding in their reasoning”.

In 2017, the Supreme Court became the first African court to scrap the re-election victory of a sitting president, after it annulled on procedural grounds results giving Kenyatta a second term. Kenyatta won the rerun after Odinga boycotted it.

Four of those judges remain on the Court. The chief justice retired and Koome replaced him.

Koome – who has 34 years of legal experience – cut her teeth representing political detainees like Odinga when he protested against state repression in the 1980s and 90s.

“Many years ago … courts seemed to be controlled by the government. But today’s courts have come out to be more independent,” said carpenter Meshack Nyamema.

Koome, 62, is already a trailblazer: her appointment made her the first female head of any Kenyan branch of government. She often discusses her Christianity and liberal social views.

One of 18 children from a polygamous family of subsistence farmers, Koome co-founded and chaired the Federation of Women Lawyers.

It campaigns for women’s rights, offers poor women free legal services and contributed to a landmark 2010 constitution that guaranteed women new rights.
ALSO READ:Kenya’s Defeated Odinga Says Presidential Election Result Travesty, Democracy  Faces Long Legal Crisis
In another departure from orthodoxy, in 2019 she supported a ruling that it was not illegal to identify as gay. Gay sex is punishable by 14 years in jail.This May, Koome used a national prayer breakfast to warn against settling election disputes on the streets.”I pray for those who might be tempted to divide our nation for their selfish reasons,” she said. “This country belongs to everyone, and not just politicians.
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