Raila: Poll opened 2007 wounds, CORD shall exploit other means

By Geoffrey Mosoku

Nairobi, Kenya: Prime Minister Raila Odinga accepted the Supreme Court verdict on the validity of President elect Uhuru Kenyatta’s win, because he did not want to appear hypocritical after promising to respect the judges’ ruling.

In a BBC interview a day after conceding defeat and wishing Uhuru and his team well, Raila said even after the ruling, his coalition would fight on for democracy, “through other venues’’ which he did not specify.

He also claimed victory in the March 4 race was “predetermined and manipulated by a few technocrats,’’ and warned that if this trend continues, Kenyans will lose faith in elections and “explore other means”. Again the PM did not say what this would probably entail.

“In the fight for democracy, election is just an event,’’ he said.

He was also emphatic that he conceded defeat as a personal sacrifice to avoid the bloodshed of 2007-2008, stirred by disputed presidential elections results between himself and outgoing President Mwai Kibaki.

The PM told the BBC the developments in this as a personal sacrifice to avoid the bloodshed of 2007-2008, stirred by disputed presidential elections results between himself and outgoing President Mwai Kibaki.

The PM told the BBC the developments in this month’s elections and the Supreme Court’s handling of his petition has opened afresh wounds from the scary experiences of 2007.

Asked if he thought Uhuru would present himself for crimes against humanity trials at the International Criminal Court, the PM told his interviewer that the President-elect is best placed to answer that question.

The Prime Minister was categorical the Saturday ruling failed to restore Kenyans’ confidence in elections and denied them an opportunity to know that transpired.

“The wounds have not been healed but opened by what has just happened. It is a replica of what exactly happened in 2007,” Raila said when asked if he thought the ruling had healed the wounds of the country’s saddest moment five years ago.

The PM warned the verdict left many Kenyans dejected saying the decision by the court to reject some of his evidence will lead to voter apathy and possibly Kenyans seeking for other ways to address electoral disputes.

“What is the point of going to polls if results are going to be pre-determined? Voter apathy will be high in the next five years and Kenyans may look for other ways. We want to avoid people looking for other means,” he said.

Foul play

Raila, however, defended his decision to accept the court’s verdict in spite of not agreeing with it.

“Because as I said three weeks ago, we had faith in the Supreme Court, I could appear as if I am a hypocrite if I turned about to reject the decision,” he explained.

“I am going to tell my people to look at peaceful ways of resolving this issue,” he said adding: “The Supreme Court is just one step, there are many other avenues.”

The PM expressed regret the highest court in the land dismissed some of his evidence he said proved there was foul play, and ordered it expunged from court records.

He cited the allegations that both The National Alliance (TNA) and Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) call centres were hosted by Kencall with the two sharing an Internet Protocol address, thus allowing TNA to interfere with the electronic voter tallying system that later collapsed.

“A call centre was co-hosting TNA and IEBC; TNA was our main rival but they were sharing an IP address but this evidence was dismissed by the court,” Raila lamented.

On Saturday, under heavy security, a six-judge Bench led by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga delivered its verdict, dismissing the PM’s petition saying they had unanimously agreed to uphold Uhuru’s win.

Reactions

The announcement was received with joy and celebrations in the Jubilee circles while in Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) strongholds, it was met with shock and even anger, with some violent protests witnessed in Kisumu where two people were shot dead by police and 11 injured.

On Sunday, when asked what he was going to do to restrain millions of his supporters who feel cheated, Raila said: “I am physically going to tell my people to look at peaceful ways of solving disputes. There are many ways to pursue the cause of democratisation. I want to avoid bloodshed that we experienced.”

On Saturday, evening shortly after the ruling, the CORD leader who failed to directly congratulate Uhuru for the victory, nevertheless committed to respecting the ruling.

“The court has now spoken. Article 140 of our Constitution states that the Supreme Court shall hear and determine the petition and its decision is final. Although we may not agree with some of its findings, and in spite of anomalies we have pointed out, our belief in constitutionalism remains supreme,” he said.

The CORD leader, who had moved to court seeking the annulment of the declaration by IEBC, had cited flaws in the management and conduct of elections, saying the IEBC had largely failed to deliver on its mandate of ensuring a credible poll.

Technology failure

The PM told reporters they had unearthed evidence of technology failure that required a full audit, inappropriate conduct on the part of IEBC staff, and irregular and unethical arrangements such as the sharing of servers by IEBC with a competitor and unmarked registers.

“We regret that the court disallowed evidence on the grounds that it was either filed late or the court did not have time to inquire into these discrepancies. In the end, Kenyans lost their right to know what indeed happened,” he added.

Raila, however, urged his supporters to be calm and ensure peace prevails, saying that enforcing the spirit and letter of the Constitution remains the only sure way to peace and prosperity for the country’s young democracy.

“My actions have always been guided by my desire to bring about a better life for all Kenyans, particularly those who are less privileged.

The future of Kenya is bright. Let us not allow the elections to divide us. Let us re-unite as a nation,” Raila had said in televised news conference.