Obey the courts and respect rule of law to avert anarchy

“Fellow Kenyans, our nation has now successfully navigated the most complex General Election in our history. Our journey began three years ago, with the promulgation of a new Constitution, and ended eleven days ago, with a landmark Supreme Court decision. Ours has been an unusual story. An unconventional path. We have been praised and criticised in turn – depending on who was telling our story. Yet while some watched the unfolding national events with skepticism, resigned to what they believed was the inevitability of chaos, others, the vast majority, looked upon our nation with a tempered hope; cheering us on not only because they believed in us but because they knew that if Kenya succeeded they too would succeed.”

Those were the words of President Uhuru Kenyatta in his inauguration speech. They are even more relevant today as the day he read that fine speech. As we celebrated Mashujaa Day, the day set aside to rejoice in the freedom and wider democratic space that various heroes put their lives on the line for, it is imperative we remember that they were actually entrenching the rule of law for a free nation.