President-elect William Ruto has received congratulations from foreign leaders for his victory, which was recognised and upheld by Kenya’s Supreme Court.
In addition to congratulating Ruto, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated his intention to cooperate with the next administration and strengthen their historic connection for the mutual benefit of Kenyans and Americans.
Blinken commended Raila Odinga for upholding the Supreme Court’s ruling and pointed out that democratic institutions are strong because of open elections and peaceful conflict resolution.
Vicky Ford, the UK’s Minister for Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, joined in the congratulations and said she was looking forward to working with to strengthen the strategic alliance between the two nations. She commended Kenya and its leaders for pursuing an orderly, peaceful, and open democratic process.
Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, also praised William Ruto and said that their collaboration would boost the EAC agenda.
The president of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, welcomed Ruto and said that his country and Zambia will work to strengthen their longstanding ties based on shared interests.
The African Union Commission Chair, Moussa Faki, also expressed his gratitude and praised Raila Odinga for exemplifying true leadership in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.
Also, former President of Nigeria Goodluck Ebele Jonathan congratulated Ruto, charging him to be magnanimous in victory and leverage the pervading peaceful atmosphere to stabilise Kenya and establish the country on the path of sustainable economic growth.
The results of last month’s presidential elections, which declared William Ruto the victor, were affirmed by Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday.
According to results released in August by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Ruto, 55, defeated Raila Odinga with 50.49 percent of the vote.
When four members of the electoral commission rejected the results, calling the tallying “opaque,” the release of the results devolved into pandemonium in an otherwise peaceful election process.
Along with other allegations of irregularities, 77-year-old Odinga later challenged the results in court, claiming that hackers had gained access to the electoral body’s website, subtracted his votes, and added them to Ruto’s.
