The Kenyan Presidential election has been nullified by the country’s Supreme Court after accusations that the results had been tampered with in favour of the winner.
In a first ever ruling, judges voided President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win from last month, and called for new elections within 60 days.
Supporters of opposition candidate Raila Odinga took to the streets en-masse in celebration after the ruling by the court in Nairobi on Friday.
President Kenyatta has said he disagrees with the ruling but respects the court’s decision as he called for peace amid fears the celebrations would lead to clashes.
Victory: Opposition leader Raila Odinga raises a fist as a sign of victory to his supporters as he leaves the Supreme Court after president Uhuru Kenyatta’s election win was nullified
President Kenyatta has called for calm amid fears the celebrations would lead to clashes
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga kneel down and thank God as they celebrate after hearing the verdict
‘The court has made its decision. We respect it. We don´t agree with it. And again, I say peace,’ Kenyatta told the nation in a televised address.
‘That is the nature of democracy.’
Odinga-supporters danced in the streets, marveling at the setback for Kenyatta, the son of the country’s first president, in the long rivalry between Kenya’s leading political families.
No presidential election in the East African economic hub has ever been nullified before.
‘It’s a very historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension the people of Africa,’ said opposition candidate Raila Odinga, who had challenged the vote.
‘For the first time in the history of African democratization, a ruling has been made by a court nullifying irregular election of a president. This is a precedent-setting ruling.’
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga celebrate in Uhuru Park, some carrying Kenyan flags and posters of Odinga, as they celebrate after hearing the verdict in Nairobi
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, pictured during last month’s election, is set to fight for the presidential post once again within 60 days
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga celebrate after hearing the verdict
A supporter of opposition leader Raila Odinga celebrates in front of a police barrier a street opposite the Supreme Court
Opposition leader Raila Odinga smiles and waves to a crowd of his supporters as he leaves the Supreme Court
Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga celebrate after hearing the verdict
The six-judge bench ruled 4-2 in favor of the petition filed by Odinga. He claimed the electronic voting results were hacked into and manipulated in favor of Kenyatta, who had won a second term with 54 percent of the vote.
‘A declaration is hereby issued that the presidential election held on Aug. 8 was not conducted in accordance to the constitution and applicable law, rendering the results invalid, null and void,’ Chief Justice David Maraga said.
The court did not place blame on Kenyatta or his party. It said the election commission ‘committed illegalities and irregularities … in the transmission of results, substance of which will be given in the detailed judgment of the court’ that will be published within 21 days.
Odinga called for the election commission to be disbanded and said the opposition will ask that electoral officials be prosecuted.
The lead counsel for the president, Ahmednassir Abdulahi, told the court that the nullification was a ‘very political decision’ but said they will live with the consequences.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga smiles and waves to a crowd of his supporters as he leaves the Supreme Court
Opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga, right, and his running mate, Kalonzo Musyoka sit, at the Kenya Supreme Court
Kenyan Supreme Court judges, from left to right, Njoki Ndung’u, Jackton Ojwang, Deputy Chief Justice Philomela Mwilu, Chief Justice David Maraga, Smokin Wanjala and Isaac Lenaola preside to deliver the election petition judgement
Kenyan Supreme Court judges, Chief Justice David Maraga, right, deliver the election petition judgement, watched by Philomela Mwilu
Opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga, centre, reacts at the Kenya Supreme Court
Odinga’s lawyer had asked the court to invalidate Kenyatta’s win, saying a scrutiny of the forms used to tally the votes had anomalies that affected nearly 5 million votes.
The electoral commission had said there was a hacking attempt but it failed. International election observers, including former Secretary of State John Kerry, had said they saw no interference with the vote.
‘Right or wrong, the Supreme Court has spoken. So what remains is a fresh opportunity for the people of Kenya, in exercise of their sovereign authority, to once again restate with clarity who they want as their president,’ electoral commission lawyer Paul Muite said.
Odinga, a longtime opposition candidate and the son of Kenya’s first vice president, had unsuccessfully challenged the results of the 2013 vote that Kenyatta won.
Opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga, centre and his running mate, Kalonzo Musyoka, left, with their lawyer James Orengo, right, at the Kenya Supreme Court
A lawyer arrives past a line of police guarding the building ahead of an expected verdict in the presidential election petition at the Supreme Court in downtown Nairobi
Police guard the Supreme Court building ahead of an expected verdict in the presidential election petitio
Odinga’s supporters at first had said they would not go to court this time but filed a petition two weeks ago.
Kenya had been braced for further protests Friday as the court prepared to rule on the opposition’s challenge, with police deployed to sensitive areas of the capital, Nairobi, and streets near the court were barricaded.
Human rights groups have said police killed at least 24 people in unrest that followed the Aug. 8 vote.
Instead, opposition supporters exploded in celebration.
‘Thank you, Jesus!’ one woman shouted. ‘I’m telling, God is on our side.’
‘This has shown all (election) observers did not do their job. We want an apology,’ said John Wekesa, who was dancing outside the court.
Unease around the election rose when the official who oversaw the electronic voting system was found tortured and killed days before the vote. But the unrest following the vote was far calmer than the post-election violence a decade ago that left more than 1,000 people dead.