‘Invalid, null and void’: Why Kenya’s Supreme Court threw out Kenyatta’s presidential victory

In a stunning setback for President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s Supreme Court on Friday annulled his Aug. 8 re-election victory citing irregularities and ordered a new vote within 60 days.

The reversal, the first of its kind in Kenyan elections, stunned the country, East Africa’s economic powerhouse and pillar of stability in a fragile region.

The majority 4-2 ruling of the six judges on the bench came in response to a petition filed by challenger Raila Odinga, 72, who alleged widespread fraud in the election, including the hacking of the electoral commission’s computer system.

It is the fourth time Odinga has lost an election, often alleging fraud.

“Taking the totality of the entire evidence, we are satisfied that the elections were not conducted in the accordance to the dictates of the Constitution,” said Chief Justice David Maraga, who described the results as “invalid, null and void.”

Following the judgment, the court broke into cheers and songs with Odinga raising his fists in the air in celebration.

He called it “a very historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension the people of Africa,” according to the Associated Press.

Lawyer for the president, Ahmednasir Abdullahi, condemned it as “a very political decision” but said they would abide by the results.

Heavy security surrounded the courthouse ahead of the decision over fears supporters of Odinga would riot if the decision went against him.

After the announcement of the original election results which Kenyatta won by 54 per cent, Odinga’s supporters took to the streets and clashed with police, resulting in 24 dead.

This time, they were celebrating. In Nairobi’s sprawling Kibera slum, where six had died in the earlier clashes, residents poured out of their homes and danced in the streets holding Odinga posters.

In the coastal city of Mombasa, people rode motorcycles through the streets, cheering.

In contrast to the elation of Odinga’s supporters, the country’s business community, which backed Kenyatta’s pro-business image, were shocked, with trading halted on the stock exchange after shares plummeted in the wake of the decision. The currency plunged as well.

Odinga, by contrast, appealed to the country’s less fortunate, promising greater social justice and to combat the endemic corruption in society.

Kenya’s election commission had admitted that there had been a hacking attempt on its computer system but maintained it was unsuccessful, while international observers had said there were no signs of interference with the vote.

Paul Muite, the commission’s lawyer, argued during the hearing that the integrity of the vote had been protected “as far as was humanly possible.”

Odinga’s lawyer, however, had alleged that some 5 million votes were marred by discrepancies and the forms used to record results lacked key security features such as watermarks and the necessary stamps and signatures.

Kenya, while vastly more stable than war-torn neighbors Somalia and South Sudan, remains riven by tribal rivalries that come to a head in every election cycle, largely between Kenyatta’s Kikuyu tribe and Odinga’s fellow Luos.

After Odinga lost in 2007, the country was engulfed by a wave of ethnic violence that killed 1,400 people. Washington Post