Self-Confessed ‘Hustler’ Declared Winner of Kenya’s Presidential Election

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s deputy president was declared the winner of the country’s elections after six days of tension, and minutes after half of the country’s election commission publicly disowned the results of the vote.

William Ruto was declared the winner on Monday night. While the election has been largely peaceful so far, chaos did break out however at the tallying centre of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) shortly before the result was announced. Men shoved each other on stage as the results were finalised, and people were ejected from the premises while a choir continued to sing for the assembled crowd waiting for the announcement.

Four of the seven commissioners of the IEBC left the centre and held a rival press conference Monday afternoon to preemptively reject the results, raising fears that the announcement of a presidential winner would be delayed or that violent protests could follow.

“We cannot take ownership of the results that are going to be announced,” said Juliana Cherera, an IEBC deputy chairperson citing “the opaque nature of this last phase.” The dissenting officials did not give further details or evidence.

Past elections in Kenya have been marred by violence. In 2007, more than 1,000 people died and thousands more were displaced in post-election violence and in 2017, 100 people died in clashes with police. 

Party diehards belonging to opposition candidate Raila Odinga’s camp charged at the IEBC chair, Wafula Chebukati, and threw chairs to physically prevent him from declaring Ruto the winner. Police reined in the situation but two IEBC commissioners were injured in the scuffle. 

The result was close – Ruto won with 50.5 percent of the vote, while Odinga – who has now unsuccessfully stood for president five times – was on 48.9 percent. Ruto’s victory comes after he ran as the “hustler’s” candidate, repeatedly promoting the idea of a “hustler nation” that promoted small businesses and entrepreneurship.

Odinga’s team accused the electoral commission of mismanagement and his party’s polling agent refused to sign the form that certifies the final presidential tally.

Tensions were high in Nairobi after nearly a week of waiting for the winner of a neck-and-neck vote count. Schools and many businesses were shut ahead of the announcement in case the situation turned violent.

Hopes were high that this election would mark the first peaceful vote since Kenya’s independence in 1963. But as the minutes and then hours ticked by without an announcement and each camp declaring their own candidate the winner on social media, many in the capital Nairobi and beyond worry that the 2022 presidential race could also end in unrest. 

“There is a lot of anxiety here. Odinga’s supporters know this is his last chance and they expected him to win with a big margin,” Rodrigues Munalo Mulindi, a 33-year-old youth leader and lifelong member of Odinga’s party, told VICE World News outside the National Tallying Centre.  

In previous elections, Odinga rallied his base accusing the government of rigging and stealing votes. 

“According to the intelligence I have collected, we are going to have a hard time controlling his supporters if he loses,” Mulindi said. “Raila’s true supporters… will retaliate to show their displeasure.” 

Mulindi claimed, without providing evidence, that there was “foul play” at the polls or in the vote counting process., a common view among many Odinga supporters who turned out to protest the result on Monday night.  But he acknowledged that “Ruto’s team is well coordinated,” while Odinga’s team “think that taking a selfie with Raila makes them kingpins in their own region but they didn’t go to mobilise their supporters.” 

Turnout was historically low on voting day, with only 65.4 percent of the 22.12 million registered voters casting their vote on election day.  

Odinga’s team could challenge the results at Kenya’s Supreme Court. But as it stands Ruto is on course to be inaugurated as Kenya’s fifth president.