“He who once walked barefoot and sold chickens by the side of the road […] is since Monday the 5th President of the Republic of Kenya”summarizes the Kenyan daily The Star. After six days of waiting, outgoing vice-president William Ruto was declared the winner of the August 9 election on Monday with 50.49% of the vote against 48.85% for his main rival, Raila Odinga, reports the site of pan-african information Koaci.
The victory of the candidate – who had made purchasing power his hobbyhorse in this country where inflation has exploded – was however far from unanimous on Monday evening. Demonstrations have notably shaken several popular districts of the capital Nairobi, such as Mathare, Kayole and Kibera. In Kisumu (west), a stronghold of Odinga (an opposition figure to whom incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta had given his support for the presidential election), the anger took the form of barricades and stone throwing and shops were been looted.
A few minutes before the chairman of the independent commission announced the election results, four of its seven members also dissociated themselves from the independent body, briefly explaining their position by “opacity of the process”. This advert “leaves voters confused and nervous in a country whose history has been marked by episodes of post-election violence”notice the Washington Post.
Results that could be challenged in the Supreme Court
According to the American daily, “candidate Raila Odinga’s campaign team could challenge the results in the Supreme Court, as he had already done in 2017 with success”. Kenya’s highest court then declared the vote invalid, leading to new elections won by incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta.
But this period was also marked by a lot of violence, recalls the Washington Post. What will happen in the coming weeks “will be closely monitored at home and abroad, including in Washington”notes the daily, which recalls that the United States considers Kenya as “a key ally in the fight against terrorism”.
“Populist Rhetoric”
President-elect Ruto for his part assured Monday evening that he would work with “all leaders” policies.
“Despite his status as an establishment candidate (…), William Ruto campaigned as an outsider, portraying the election as a battle between the ‘resourceful’ – poor Kenyans – and the ‘dynasties’ , the influential families like those of the Kenyattas and the Odingas who have been important players in the country’s politics since independence”, explains Dickens Olewe, journalist for the BBC in Nairobi. “I may be nobody’s son, but I promise to make Kenya everyone’s country”he told his constituents during the campaign.
“There is no doubt that […] populist rhetoric and exploitation of the victim map struck a chord with the popular masses and enabled him to make significant inroads in the constituencies won in Odinga”notes the Kenyan newspaper The Nation.