Uhuru and Raila engage in war of words over election dispute

President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday challenged the Cord candidate, Mr Raila Odinga, not to incite Kenyans over the presidential election dispute as the Prime Minister told the Jubilee flag bearer to stop using State resources before he is sworn in.

On Monday, Mr Odinga claimed in Changamwe that he had won the election, saying he got a total 5.7 million votes against Mr Kenyatta’s 4.5 million.

However, he did not elaborate on where the got the numbers.

Only the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is mandated by law to release the results of elections.

On March 9, IEBC declared Mr Kenyatta winner of the presidential election with 6.1 million votes against Mr Odinga’s 5.3 million.

But on Monday, Mr Odinga claimed that he won the 2007 election by 60,000 votes but was robbed of the victory. He vowed not to sit back this time round, saying he was confident the Supreme Court would rule in his favour.

Mr Odinga has filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging IEBC’s decision to declare Mr Kenyatta as winner of the presidential election. And yesterday, he filed a fresh case seeking to compel IEBC to allow a forensic audit of its IT system. He wants the case heard before the petition.

And in Mombasa on Tuesday, Mr Kenyatta asked Mr Odinga to stop commenting on the case he has filed and wait for the verdict of the Supreme Court.

“The matter is in court and we should not talk in a manner that might incite Kenyans,” the President-elect said.

He reiterated that Jubilee was ready for the court’s outcome and urged Cord to accept the verdict.

Hakuna haja ya uchochezi (there no need for incitement). The most important thing at the moment is to ensure that we all enjoy peace,” Mr Kenyatta said. “We are ready for the verdict, but we cannot just sit and wait. We are preparing ourselves so that when the outcome is announced in our favour, we will continue with our jobs.”

But speaking in Nairobi, Mr Odinga said President Kibaki had not handed over power to Mr Kenyatta and it was unconstitutional for the President-elect to enjoy presidential privileges.

Mr Kenyatta had earlier travelled to the Coast in an Airforce plane.

“He should desist from using State resources and not behave as if he is already president. What he is doing right now is premature,” said Mr Odinga at the Bomas of Kenya where he met leaders elected under the Cord ticket in Nairobi.

Responding to Mr Kenyatta’s challenge not to comment on the petition, Mr Odinga said he was not talking about the actual content of the case because he understood the law of sub judice.

He said that what he was commenting about was a political office under dispute.