Tag: Raila Odinga

Opposition leader: Kenya moving toward ‘outright dictatorship’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga sharply criticized the role of Western diplomats and election observers in the recent presidential vote and warned Thursday that the country is moving toward “outright dictatorship.” Odinga boycotted the presidential election held in September and has termed it a “sham.” Incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta secured 98 percent of the vote. Eight days before the election, “the chairman of the electoral commission publicly, on live television, said he was not […]

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After Kenyatta win, all eyes on Kenya’s embattled opposition chief

by Hazel Ward Agence France-Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — Kenya was once again left waiting Tuesday, as embattled opposition leader Raila Odinga prepared to lay out his strategy following a boycott of last week’s protest-hit elections that handed President Uhuru Kenyatta a landslide win. Thursday’s contest saw Kenyatta winning a decisive victory with 98 percent of the vote, hailing the result as a vindication of his victory in an initial August poll which was later overturned by […]

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Divided Kenya votes in fractious second election

 by Hazel Ward with Nicolas Delaunay in Kisumu  Agence France-Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — A divided Kenya heads to the polls on Thursday in a bitterly disputed presidential re-run that has sparked fears both at home and abroad for the stability of the east African powerhouse. It will be the second time in three months that Kenyans vote after the August victory of President Uhuru Kenyatta was overturned by the Supreme Court in an unprecedented ruling that unleashed […]

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Uhuru Kenyatta: president facing Pyrrhic election victory

by Tristan McConnell Agence France-Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) – Uhuru Kenyatta, who is set to win a second and final term in Thursday’s election re-run, is the son of Kenya’s founding president and a man who epitomizes the country’s elite. The 55-year-old US-educated multi-millionaire, whose family owns an array of businesses, properties and land, followed in his father’s footsteps when he defeated his rival Raila Odinga to become president in 2013. Their rematch in August was […]

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