Uhuru Kenyatta, elected Kenya’s fourth President after a peaceful election process
Uhuru’s election poses serious economic challenges for Kenya as the donor community has made it clear that it will not do business with ICC suspects
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta has been elected Kenya’s fourth President bringing to an end a bruising and protracted duel against Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Uhuru garnered 6,172,433 against Raila’s 5,225,626 in an election that took place on Monday last week. Kenyans had to wait until the wee hours of Saturday morning before knowing the verdict though it had been evident that he was headed for victory after leading from the start of the tallying process. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission attributed the delay in announcing the results to a technical hitch in their electronic tallying IT system.
“I am great humbled by the chance accorded to me by the Kenyan people. I promise to implement my promises to the letter and call upon my opponents to join me as we seek to transform this great nation. I will be the president of Kenya and Kikuyu,” said Uhuru moments after his election.
Uhuru 51, will mostly attribute his victory Raila’s former ally William Ruto who also happens to be his co-accused at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity following the 2007/8 post-election violence. Ruto will be Uhuru’s running mate after delivering the populous Rift Valley vote.
Uhuru’s win poses serious challenges to Kenya after a section of the international community, key among them major donors threatened to put in place sanctions and cut-off aid.
The United States of America and United Kingdom who are major donors for the Kenyan economy have time and again advised Kenyans against voting in ICC inductees as this would ruin Kenya’s image on the international community and hurt the economy.
“Decisions and choices have consequences. Kenyans should exercise their democratic right of electing leaders carefully and put into consideration the magnitude of the cases facing these two,” said America’s top envoy for African affairs Mr. Johny Carson in the run-up to the election.
It will be interesting to see how the international community treat Uhuru’s win en through economic powerhouses like China have shown clear preference of a Kenyatta presidency.
Kenya currently is currently implementing an $18.8 billion budget with only half of it coming from the Kenyan taxpayers while the rest of the funds have been factored in as appropriation in aid. Any disconnection in funding from the donor community could seriously affect the growth trajectory of the country especially key infrastructure projects in transport, energy, water, health and education.
Uhuru and his Jubilee Coalition hinged their campaign manifesto on economic empowerment, poverty eradication and infrastructure development. They have pledged to take Kenya’s economic growth from the current 4.5 per cent to 10 per cent in the first 10 years in power.
It will however be interesting to see how the duo implements the new constitution which has among other things devolved power from Nairobi to the regions. It is notable that both Uhuru and Ruto opposed the adoption of the new constitution and even campaigned against it in 2010.
“An Uhuru election for Kenya puts the country in the middle of two major risks. One is the alienation by the international community. It only means that sanctions against Kenya will affect our exports and general business thus crippling the economy. Secondly, the fact that the two were unwilling to adopt the new constitution means that they are status quo proponents and therefore will not implement the new constitution,” said Dr. Adams Oloo, the head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Nairobi.
Uhuru takes over from President Mwai Kibaki how has been hailed home and away for his development track record having inherited a seriously tattered economy from then President Daniel arap Moi.Sections of the Kenyan nation largely from central Kenya broke into celebration immediately the announcement was made. Kenyatta is from the populous Kikuyu community which hails from Central Province. His support was mainly concentrated in Central and Rift Valley where his running mate Ruto hails from.
For supporters of Raila, it was gloom and disappointment. Raila has support from across the Kenyan nation enjoying most of it from more than five of the eight provinces.
The loss is painful in two ways, first it is a stark remind of the 2007 election which he believes and there is evidence that the election was rigged in Kibaki’s favour. The two were forced into a power-sharing arrangement by the international community after two months of bloodshed, evictions and runaway disorder.
Secondly, Raila’s disappointment emanates from the fact that this was his last stab at the Presidency as at 67, he is only three years short of the constitutional maximum of 70 years. This was his third attempt at the presidency.
The biggest winners in this election will be the 40 million plus Kenyans who managed to hold a largely peaceful election coming from a history of post election violence that made the country become the focus of the international community.
The peaceful completion of the process is expected to open a floodgate of investments as most prospective investors had held back their capital in fear of another round of violence in the elections.
Six other candidates took part in the presidential election. They include, , Musalia Mudavadi, Peter Kenneth, Mohammed Abduba
Dida, Martha Karua and Paul Muite. They finished in that order.
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