The verdict was delivered by Martha Koome, chair of the seven-member Supreme Court on Monday.
Kenya’s Supreme Court has upheld the victory of former deputy president William Ruto in the August 9 presidential election, after ruling on a number of petitions brought by his closest challenger Raila Odinga.
The unanimous verdict was delivered by Martha Koome, chair of the seven-member court on Monday.
She said:
On August 15, Ruto had been declared winner of the ballot by Wafula Chebukati, head of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) with 50.49% of the vote to Odinga’s 48.85%.
In a dramatic split just before the announcement of the results, four of the seven commissioners disowned the result.
But Koome said on Monday that “apart from their eleventh-hour denunciation of the verification process…the four commissioners have not shown any evidence that the election was compromised”.
Odinga filed a petition to Kenya’s top court last month, claiming he had “enough evidence” to show he had in fact won the election, which ranked as one of Africa’s most expensive polls.
Although voting day passed off peacefully, the results sparked angry protests in Odinga’s strongholds and there are fears that the dispute could fuel violence in a country with a history of post-poll unrest.
