JUDGEMENT DAY! How William Ruto Defeated Raila Odinga-Uhuru Alliance to Become Kenya’s 5th President

Deputy President William Ruto was on Monday declared the winner of Kenya’s presidential election after narrowly beating his rival, Raila Odinga, with 50.5% of the vote, according to the official results.

Outgoing Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had endorsed his former archrival Raila Odinga for the country’s top job, weeks after their parties joined forces ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections.

It was the fifth time Odinga to run for president. He vied for the presidency as the Azimio la Umoja alliance preferred candidate made up of parties such as Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party and, now, Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement.

Although four candidates vied to succeed incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta in Kenya’s 2022 election including; David Mwaure Waihiga — Agano Party, George Wajackoyah — Roots Party, the race has been tight between Raila Odinga — Azimio la Umoja and William Ruto — Kenya Kwanza.

Kenya’s elections chief Wafula Chebukati declared Ruto the winner of a tight presidential race on Monday but some senior election officials disowned the result, fuelling fears of widespread violence like that seen after previous disputed polls.

Earlier Monday, Ruto’s rival Odinga’s coalition also rejected the election results before they had even been announced by Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Odinga’s chief agent Saitabao Kanchory told the press outside the national election center in Nairobi that they had not yet been able to cross check the final result with their own tally.

“Once we see them, we want to verify them, when we verify them, we will be able to know and to tell the Kenyan people, because a result that is not verifiable is not a result.” Kanchory told reporters awaiting the results announcement.

Ruto thanked the people of Kenya for voting him as the next leader of the country in his first speech after being announced the winner of the election.

“In this election, there are no losers. The people of Kenya have won because we have raised the political bar. The people of Kenya are the biggest winners,” he said

He expressed his “gratitude” to Kenyan citizens “who refused to be boxed into tribal cocoons.”

He also thanked his competitor and veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga, and said: “We dwelled on issues and tried to sell an agenda to the people of Kenya during the campaign.”

“It was God that brought us here … my team and I will make sure that the sacrifices made by many Kenyans is not in vain …I will run a transparent, open, democratic government and I will work with the opposition to the extent that they provide oversight over my administration,” he added.

There was a divided response to the presidential election results in Kenya on Monday evening. In Eldoret, live pictures from Ruto’s hometown showed large crowds celebrating and cheering his win.

During the campaign, Ruto described himself as the “hustler-in-chief,” citing his humble beginnings as a chicken seller who fought his way up to the top of Kenyan politics.

Political analyst Herman Manyora told CNN ahead of the election that “Ruto has excited the youths … almost in a euphoric sense.”

Ruto, a former teacher who holds a doctorate in plant ecology from the University of Nairobi, has pledged to prioritize Kenya’s economy and “uplift ordinary citizens” as President.

Ruto has a long and varied history in Kenyan politics and was also tried alongside President Kenyatta in 2013 at the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands for alleged crimes against humanity following deadly violence in the 2007 elections. However, the charges were later thrown out.

Celebrations have broken out in several parts of the country, including in Mr Ruto’s strongholds of the Rift Valley, and that of his deputy Rigathi Gachagua, in the Central region.

Supporters of Mr Odinga have staged protests in the western city of Kisumu and some parts of Nairobi.

Once in office, Ruto will have to confront an economic and social crisis in East Africa’s most advanced economy, where poor Kenyans already reeling from the impact of COVID-19 have been hit by global rises in food and fuel prices.

The electoral commission has introduced many checks and balances to try to prevent disputes like those that led to violence in which more than 1,200 people were killed following the 2007 election. In 2017, more than 100 people were killed after the Supreme Court quashed the initial result over irregularities in the electoral process.

Amid fears that vote-rigging allegations could lead to bloody scenes like those that followed presidential polls in 2007 and 2017, Cherera urged the parties to pursue any disputes through the courts.

Chebukati said Ruto had won 50.49% of the vote, against Odinga’s 48.5%.

The winning candidate must get 50% of votes plus one.

Odinga did not attend the announcement. His running mate, Martha Karua later tweeted: “it is not over until it is over.”

Saitabao Kanchory, national chief agent for Odinga’s Azimio La Umoja (Declaration of Unity) Alliance told reporters outside the tallying centre that it would continue to “hold Wafula Chebukati … to account to the people of Kenya to deliver a free fair credible election.”

Kenya Kwanza is an alliance that includes William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Amani National Congress (ANC) and the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Kenya (FORD-Kenya).

William Ruto has been Kenya’s deputy president since 2013. He previously served as minister of home affairs, minister of agriculture, and minister of higher education.

Ruto promised to introduce a new bottom-up economic model in Kenya if he is elected. His election manifesto suggested radical economic reforms to empower the underprivileged. Ruto also pledged to implement a two-thirds gender rule in elective and appointive positions in the public sector within 12 months and a Cabinet comprised equally of men and women.

Ruto was born in Uasin Gishu County. He is a graduate of the University of Nairobi who entered politics via the Youth for Kanu ’92 lobby that campaigned for the incumbent president Daniel Arap Moi during Kenya’s first multiparty elections in 1992.

Ruto has party-hopped frequently since 2005. He parted ways with the ruling Jubilee Party in 2021 and was endorsed in March by the UDA to contest the presidential vote.

In 2017, he and incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta were running mates for a second time. The two have since fallen out.

SOURCE:BBC, CNN