Kenya crisis deepens as vote delay petition goes unheard

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‍Kenya plunged deeper into crisis on Wednesday as a shortage of judges scuppered an eleventh-hour petition to delay a presidential election and the governor of a volatile opposition region endorsed rebellion against the state.

Within minutes of Supreme Court chief justice David Magara announcing that five judges had failed to turn up, preventing a quorum, hundreds of supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga took to the streets of Kisumu, his main stronghold.

Riot policemen are deloyed to disperse a protest by supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, in Kisumu, Kenya, October 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Odinga had successfully challenged the outcome of an initial ballot in August, which he lost, in the same court.

The opposition leader has called on loyalists to boycott Thursday’s vote, because he said the election board’s failure to institute reforms means it will be neither free nor fair.

Kisumu governor Anyang Nyong‘o, a hardline Odinga supporter, went a step further.

“If the government subverts the sovereign will of the people ... then people are entitled to rebel against this government,” Nyong‘o told reporters in Kisumu.

A supporter of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga carries a slingshot at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya, October 25, 2017. /Reuters

Such comments seem certain to fuel fears of a major confrontation with security forces, already blamed for killing nearly 50 people in Kisumu and Nairobi slums after the cancelled August vote.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won the annulled election by 1.4 million votes, has made clear he wants the re-run to go ahead and with the Supreme Court - the only institution that can delay it - unable to meet, it appears he will get his way.

In his announcement on live television, Maraga said one judge was unwell, another was abroad and another was unable to attend after her bodyguard was shot and injured on Tuesday night. It was unclear why the other two were absent.

Election board lawyer Paul Muite said Magara’s statement meant the election would proceed as planned.

Supporters of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta shout in front of the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya, October 25, 2017. /Reuters Photo

“It means elections are on tomorrow. There is no order stopping the election,” he told the Citizen TV station.

Source(s): Reuters