Friday 1st September 2017 has secured it’s place on Kenyan, African and global history as the day the Supreme of Court of Kenya nullified presidential elections. Tributes flooded in from various parts of the world with various leaders hailing SCOK judges for their bravery. Incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta issued a statement shortly after, saying that he was not happy with the ruling but nevertheless respected the court’s decision.
Later in the afternoon the president headed to Burma market, Nairobi, where he launched scathing attacks on the judiciary, and more specifically Chief Justice David Maraga. The visibly inebriated president said, “Maraga na hiyo watu yake wakora wamesema uchaguzi ipotee” (Maraga and his fellow thugs have nullified the elections). These unfortunate utterances left many, including some of his supporters, dumbfounded given that he had earlier on challenged the opposition leader to take his complains to court if he felt aggrieved.
The scathing attacks escalated on Saturday morning as he hosted elected Jubilee leaders to a brunch at State House. Several leaders, including Aden Duale, vowed to use their superior numbers in both houses to overhaul the judiciary. The president said the judiciary has become a problem that his government will ‘fix’ once they reclaim power, perhaps overconfident that he will win again.
On his part, Deputy President William Ruto said that the judiciary was wrong to overturn the will of the people. Notably, he was alone on the campaign trail on Sunday as he addressed several roadside rallies in Central Kenya.
Central Organization of Trade Unions secretary general Francis Atwoli made a televised statement encouraging Uhuru to “sober up” as he was embarrassing himself with unfortunate remarks. Atwoli criticized the duo for hitting the campaign trail immediately and encouraged them to go back to the drawing board and reorganize their troops.
On Sunday residents and leaders from Nyamira County took to the streets to peacefully protest President Uhuru’s threats on the Chief Justice who hails from the region. In Kisii County, interdenominational prayers at Kisii Sports Club are scheduled to take place later in the day, followed by a peaceful demonstration in support of the C.J. Other sections that have spoken against President Kenyatta’s attack on the judiciary include the Law Society of Kenya, and the Anglican Church.
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In other news former presidential candidate Abduba Dida said he will not participate in the fresh polls and will instead throw his weight behind Raila Odinga, who he says has the interest of all Kenyans at heart.
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