Kenya candidate files court case over presidential vote

Kenya candidate files court case over presidential vote

Karua said in a statement that she had filed a petition at the East African Court of Justice
Karua said in a statement that she had filed a petition at the East African Court of Justice. Photo: Tony KARUMBA / AFP
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!

Kenya's defeated deputy presidential candidate Martha Karua said Friday that she had filed a case challenging the Supreme Court's decision in September which upheld the election victory of President William Ruto.

Ruto won a narrow victory in the bitterly fought August 9 poll against veteran politician Raila Odinga, who contested the results in an ultimately unsuccessful case lodged at Kenya's top court.

On Friday, Odinga's former running mate Karua said in a statement that she had filed a petition at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania, accusing the Kenyan court of undermining "the rule of law by violating the right to a fair trial".

In the petition filed on Thursday, Karua, who is one of Kenya's best-known lawyers, urged the regional court to order Kenyan authorities to conduct "transparent, independent, and professional investigations into all (the) violations" allegedly committed by the election commission and the country's top court.

Read also

French far-right MP suspended over 'back to Africa' outburst

No Kenyan presidential election result has ever gone uncontested, with Odinga alleging fraud and hacking of the election commission's servers.

But the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous verdict in favour of Ruto, saying there was no evidence to back Odinga's claims.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!

Observers had feared that the disputed outcome could fuel violence in a country with a history of post-poll unrest, but voting day passed off peacefully.

The East African Court of Justice came into force in 2001 to ensure adherence to the laws establishing the seven-nation East African Community bloc, made up of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.