Kenya's Supreme Court to rule on election challenge

Kenya’s Supreme Court is to rule on challenges to the presidential election in which Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner by a slim margin

ByCARA ANNA Associated Press

September 5, 2022, 4:32 AM

Philomena Mbete Mwilu, Martha Koome, Mohammed Khadhar Ibrahim — From left to right, Kenya's Supreme Court judges Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mbete Mwilu, Chief Justice Martha Koome, and Mohammed Khadhar Ibrahim, commence hearings on the petitions challenging the result of the recent presidential election, at the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. Kenya's losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga and others filed the challenges, asserting that the process was marked by criminal subversion and seeking that the outcome be nullified and a new vote be ordered. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
The Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday will rule on challenges to the presidential election in which Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner by a slim margin.

Opposition candidate Raila Odinga has alleged irregularities in the otherwise peaceful Aug. 9 election that was marked by last-minute drama when the electoral commission split and traded accusations of misconduct.

The court says its judgment will be delivered at noon.

The court in the previous election in 2017 overturned the results of the presidential election and ordered a fresh vote after Odinga filed a challenge. He then boycotted that new election.

This time, Odinga was backed by former rival and outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta in the latest example of shifting political alliances in East Africa’s most stable democracy.