Uhuru scoffs at Raila Odinga in race for presidency

NAIROBI

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday said the opposition had schemed a misfortune for the country by misleading the Supreme Court to nullify his victory.

The President said the opposition expected that the Jubilee government would reject the directions by the court.

“Raila was shocked that we accepted the verdict of the court. He thought we are like him and would reject the decision,” the President said when he addressed a rally at Uhuru Park, Nairobi.

SUPREME COURT

The President said the Supreme Court's decision to nullify his victory on questionable grounds was very painful, but his anger has subsided.

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.

“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 end the post-election violence), he turned around and said Uhuru and Ruto were responsible for the violence,” the President said.

The President said their innocence and prayers by Kenyans ensured that they were cleared of the false charges by the International Criminal Court.

DEVELOPMENT

Mr Kenyatta 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 had made progress in its first term, for example the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway, equipping two hospitals in every county with modern equipment, transformed education and built more than 7000 km of roads.

“Our objective is to see Kenya progress and nobody can make us deviate from that,” he said.

He thanked Kenyans for maintaining peace during the electioneering period.

“Their is no need for Kenyans to fight one another; the vote is the real truth teller.”

REVENUE

The Head of State thanked the residents of Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos and Kajiado counties for supporting Jubilee by electing its governorship candidates.

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 Mike Sonko has sealed corruption loopholes and is collecting Sh38.2 million a day up from Sh7 million.

“Now they cannot steal from Kenyans to run their political affairs and that is why they are carrying around pay bill numbers,” Mr Kenyatta added.

JUDGES

Deputy President William Ruto said the Supreme Court was used to subvert, shortchange and overturn the will of the 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 on who will lead them.

The DP pointed out that neither the will of candidates nor civil society sponsors can decide for the people.

IEBC

Mr Ruto predicted that Kenyans’ resolve to elect President Kenyatta will be restated on 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 respectively, 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 peacefully.