The National Super Alliance (NASA) has finally decided to move to the Supreme Court to challenge the legitimacy of Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election as President after the deeply polarising August 8 polls.
This was a judicious decision that ends speculation over what political direction that country will take. No doubt the action by NASA and its presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga has helped ease tensions across the country, and especially in major towns where street protests have stifled business in recent days.
NASA had previously indicated it would not challenge the election outcome in court because the Judiciary lacked independence. This raised fears that violent street protests would be prolonged, and with it uncertainty and economic stagnation.
The NASA leadership must be lauded for opting for a constitutional process to resolve the stalemate. We agree with the statement of its leaders - the alliance’s supporters must remain calm and as they await Supreme Court’s verdict. In the past one week, an indeterminate number of lives have been lost, including that of two innocent children, Stephanie Moraa and baby Pendo. Dozens more are nursing injuries sustained during violent confrontations between rogue security personnel and protesters.
They need not have died. By choosing to go to court rather than push for the standoff to be resolved in the streets, Raila and the Opposition have demonstrated faith in the country’s justice system.
Therefore, the Supreme Court must ensure the merits of the case are heard in there entirely, and must resist pressure from either side of the political divide.
One of the reasons the Opposition was reluctant to go court was that it was not convinced that it got a fair hearing in 2013, when Raila challenged Mr Kenyatta’s victory in elections that were held that year. The quality of that particular judgment aside, all protagonists in the 2017 legal tussle should be prepared to let justice prevail. Politicians and their supporters must remember that elections come and go but the nation must remain.
