President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday said the opposition had schemed a misfortune for the country by misleading the Supreme Court to nullify his victory which was clear to all Kenyans and was confirmed by all election observers.
The President said the opposition expected that the Jubilee Government would reject the directions by the courts because the election was free, transparent and the victory was clear.
“Raila was shocked that we accepted the verdict of the court. He thought we are like him and would reject the decision,” said the President when he addressed a mammoth rally at the historic Uhuru Park, Nairobi.
The President said the decision of the Supreme Court to nullify his clear victory on questionable grounds was very painful, but his anger is now over.
He said he did not agree with the judges because they overturned the voice of 15 million Kenyans on the basis of forms that had errors, pointing out that these were actions of unscrupulous presiding and returning officers.
Uhuru Kenyatta pointed out that Raila Odinga’s use of the Supreme Court to sabotage his victory is similar to the former Prime Minister’s use of the International Criminal Court to weigh down Jubilee leaders ahead of the 2013 elections.
“In 2007, he lost the election and he refused to accept defeat and caused bloodshed. When he got what he wanted (Raila was appointed Prime Minister to stop the post-election violence), he turned around and said Uhuru and Ruto were responsible for the violence,” said the President.
The President said their innocence and prayers by Kenyans ensured that they were cleared of the false charges.
He said he was happy that Kenyans overwhelmingly voted for Jubilee leaders at all levels in the August 8 elections, and gave him victory with a margin of 1.4 million votes.
The President said the Jubilee Government has made progress in its first term, including the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway, equipping two hospitals in every county with modern equipment, transformed education and built more than 7000km of roads.
“Our objective is to see Kenya progress and nobody can make us deviate from that,” said the President.
He thanked Kenyans for maintaining peace during the prolonged electioneering period.
“Their is no need for Kenyans to fight one another; the vote is the real truth teller,” said the President.
The Head of State thanked the residents of Nairobi County and other counties in the Nairobi metropolitan (Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado) for supporting Jubilee and electing Jubilee Governors.
The President said encouraging trends are already being seen in Nairobi, which was previously controlled by an ODM governor.
He said the county government now under Jubilee’s Mike Sonko has sealed corruption loopholes and is collecting Sh39 million a day up from Sh7 million.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said there is evidence money was being siphoned and used to fund the opposition.
“Now they cannot steal from Kenyans to run their political affairs and that is why they are carrying around pay bill numbers,” said the President said.
Deputy President William Ruto said the Supreme Court was used to subvert, shortchange and overturn the will of 15 million voters. He asked the court to “come to its senses and apologize to the people of Kenya”.
He said “at the heart of any democracy” is the right of the people to decide. The DP pointed out that neither the will of candidates nor civil society sponsors can decide for the people.
Mr Ruto predicted that Kenyans’ resolve to elect President Uhuru Kenyatta will be restated on the October 17, the date set for the fresh presidential election.
He told the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman to take his responsibilities as presidential election returning officer seriously, and stop “apportioning blame, stop writing memos and stop holding night meetings”.
Majority Leaders in the National Assembly and Senate Aden Duale and Kipchumba Murkomen told the IEBC to concentrate in planning the fresh election, not sideshows.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta was also at the meeting. In a brief speech, she urged Kenyans to vote in in peace in the repeat elections ordered by the Supreme Court.
