Raila Odinga, the unsuccessful candidate in the Kenyan presidential elections, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court on Monday 22 August 2022. The referral to the High Court follows the announcement of the results of the presidential elections of 15 August 2022, which made his main opponent William Ruto the winner of this election.
Raila Odinga had the support of NGOs and individuals. In all, nine appeals have been filed with the Supreme Court, in addition to Raila Odinga’s appeal, which is being made online initially to challenge the presidential results, which he was already calling a “travesty” when the announcement was made by the chairman of the electoral commission Wafula Chebukati. Daniel Maanzo, a member of Raila Odinga’s legal team, confirmed that the appeal had indeed been sent to the Supreme Court. “The physical copy must arrive by 14:00 (11:00 GMT), the deadline for filing an appeal.
After this stage, it will be up to the court to pronounce the final verdict within 14 days. If the polls are cancelled, the elections will be repeated 60 days later.
Better still, Raila Odinga confirms that he has evidence to refute these results and prove his victory. “We have enough evidence (showing) that we won the election.
Further on, Raila Odinga says he not only has the evidence, but believes his appeal is a historic battle for a democracy against the corruption cartel. Moreover, he claims loudly that “the 2022 presidential election represents the most reckless attempt by this cartel to subvert the will of the electorate. “We refuse to let Kenya go in this direction. This must not and will not happen,” says Raila Odinga.
Raila Odinga, a veteran of the political arena.
Questioning history, presidential elections in Kenya have always been contested and Raila Odinga is the emblematic figure. Since in the four previous elections held in the country, Raila Odinga has always been defeated. Above all, he was the driving force behind the appeal that led to the invalidation of the results and the rerun of the 2017 elections, a first in Africa. Also in 2007, his rejection of the election results led to bloody violence in which nearly 1100 people died in inter-ethnic clashes.
However, the concern of observers is that this legal recourse will lead the country into post-election unrest.
It should also be noted that the electoral commission broke up after the results were announced. Four of the seven members of the institution objected and disclaimed any responsibility for the results declared in favour of William Ruto.
Thierry Hounye(stag)
