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Kenya is maturing as a democracy, people have final say – Ruto

President says democracy was seen during Supreme Court ruling on August 2022 polls

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by MAUREEN KINYANJUI

News03 July 2023 - 06:32
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In Summary


  • The Head of state also noted that he ran a  different campaign in this election.
  • Ruto highlighted that his campaign was based on real issues, mentioning housing,  jobs and health.
President William Ruto speaking during an interdenominational prayer church service in Kajiado county on June 25, 2023.

President William Ruto has revealed that Kenya is at the level of maturity in democracy.

In an interview with CNN anchor, Fareed Zakaria while in France last month, Ruto explained that Kenya's democracy was seen during the Supreme Court ruling on the contested presidential results.

"Two things. Kenya is maturing as a democracy. And people have come to appreciate that we are a democracy and the people have the final say," he said.

The President responded to Zakaria's question on what Ruto thinks has changed Kenyans and that people accepted the Supreme Court ruling in August 2022.

The Head of state also noted that he ran a  different campaign in this election.

Ruto highlighted that his campaign was based on real issues, mentioning housing,  jobs and health.

"In 2022, we ran a campaign about issues. And I think it speaks to the maturity of the people of Kenya. It speaks to the maturity of our democracy," he said

"And it speaks to the fact that Kenyans want an outcome of age to be able to identify an issue-based campaign and issue-based candidate."

William Ruto, then Uhuru Kenyatta's deputy, won the 2022 elections to become the fifth president.

On August 15, 2022, former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati declared him the presidential contest winner after defeating Raila Odinga and two other candidates in the August 9 polls.

Ruto garnered 7.1 million votes against Raila's 6.9 million votes.

However, Raila rejected the results terming them "null and void" and promised a bruising battle at the Supreme Court.

The apex court, however, threw out the consolidated petition for lack of sufficient evidence even as the judges indicted Chebukati for having fallen short in some areas in administering the election. 

Chief Justice Martha Koome said Ruto garnered 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast saying discrepancies noted in some polling stations were not sufficient to annul Ruto's win.

Raila halfheartedly accepted the ruling although he said he does not agree with the judgment.

He said the possibility of bloodshed from post-election violence and fear of International Criminal Court charges compelled him to accept Ruto’s disputed win.

But in March, six months after the polls, Raila changed tune and termed Ruto's presidency illegitimate and vowed to mount pressure against him via street protests.

He listed six reasons to justify the call for mass action, including demanding that Ruto open IEBC servers for forensic analysis.

Raila claimed an expose from the Commission's whistleblower showed that he won the polls with 8.1 million votes against Ruto's 5.9 million.

The Azimio leader has also accused Ruto of nepotism in the Public service, an attempt to singlehandedly reconstitute IEBC and failure to lower the cost of living.

On April 1, Raila halted the street protests after Ruto suggested that he embraces bipartisan talks via Parliament to resolve the IEBC issue.  

However, President Ruto said he is ready to engage with any leader but within the precincts of the law and dismissed the possibility of a handshake.

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