Zeenews Bureau
Nairobi: The Kenyan Supreme Court on Saturday upheld Uhuru Kenyatta`s victory in country`s presidential election, according to a leading news agency. The fear of a repeat of of the 2007-08 postelection violence was ended with Kenyatta`s victory.
The verdict will see Kenyatta being sworn in as Kenya`s president early next month, making him the second sitting president in Africa to face charges at the International Criminal Court.
Kenyatta and Deputy President-elect William Ruto both face charges that they helped orchestrate the 2007-08 postelection violence in which more than 1,000 people died. Both deny the charges. Ruto`s trial is set to begin in late May; Kenyatta`s is to start in July. Kenyatta has promised to report to The Hague.
Lawyers for challenger Raila Odinga had argued before the Supreme Court that the election was marred by irregularities and that Kenyatta did not win enough votes to avoid a runoff election.
According to official results, Kenyatta won 50.07 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff election against Odinga, who said his case before the Supreme Court would put Kenya`s democracy on trial.
But the Supreme Court`s unanimous verdict, read out by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, said the election was "conducted in compliance with the constitution and the law" and that Kenyatta was "validly elected."
The reasons behind the judges` decision were not given Saturday. Odinga said he would respect the court`s decision whether it favored him or not.
