Kenya: 2 Dead in Election Ruling Protests
Two people have died during opposition protests against yesterday’s Supreme Court election ruling in Kenya.
Kenya’s highest court dismissed two petitions to overturn the 26 October victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
While the decision led to celebrations in ruling party strongholds, opposition supporters took to the streets in protest. It is unclear how the two protesters died.
Kenya’s October election was a re-run of their August elections, which were declared invalid by the Supreme Court due to fraud and irregularities.
Main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, pulled out of the October re-run, citing concerns that the same problems would re-occur. As a result, President Kenyatta won by 98% of the vote, with a voter turnout of 39%.
In a statement, Odinga said that the party’s position that the elections were illegitimate has not been changed by the court ruling. He said, “[It] did not come as a surprise. It was a decision taken under duress. We do not condemn the court, we sympathize with it.”
The death toll from four months of election chaos has reached 54. According to rights groups, the majority of these deaths have been caused by the police.
Image: Opposition supporters set a car on fire in Kisumu [online image] (2017) sourced on 21 November 2017 https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-WF525_3iNDt_OR_20171120095239.jpg?width=860&height=573
