Defeated Kenyan Presidential hopeful, Raila Odinga has declined an invitation to attend the inauguration of the newly elected President, William Ruto, the man who defeated him.
In what was a keenly elected contest, Ruto, a first timer, defeated Odinga who was contesting for the 5th time.
Odinga disputed the outcome of the election and challenged the result at the Supreme Court.
The court however dismissed his election petition and upheld Ruto’s victory.
Though he accepted the verdict of the court, he says he disagrees with the judges.
Meanwhile, the new president will be sworn in this morning and an official invitation was sent to Odinga which declined.
In a letter in response to the invitation, Odinga says he’s out of the country but still maintains that the dispute over the election is not over.
He indicated that upon his return, he and his party will announce their next line of action.
A Ghanaian very intimately familiar with contemporary Kenyan politics, and with first-hand knowledge of the main protagonists in the story, observes in reaction to Odinga’s letter:
“This letter does not bode well for Kenya’s political future. William Ruto is a man no one can bully out of power. It is important that people cooperate with him, so that it is Angel Ruto that becomes President. For if Demon Ruto comes out, God save Kenya.”
Yesterday for the first time, outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta who supported Raila Odinga instead of his vice, congratulated Ruto and urged him to be president for all Kenyans and not only those who voted for him.
Ruto has been Kenyatta’s vice for the last 10 years but the two fell apart in the last couple of years, for which reason Kenyatta refused to support him and instead chose to give his support to his one time foe Odinga.
SOURCE theghanaianvoice
