Kenyatta promises a peaceful transfer of power but stresses that its “leader” is the defeated candidate in Kenya

Ruto confirms that the president has not congratulated him and that “perhaps he is a little disappointed” by Odinga’s defeat

Sep. 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The outgoing president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, has promised a peaceful transfer of power after the elections held in August, although he has again refused to congratulate the winner, Vice President William Ruto, and has reiterated his support for his favorite candidate, the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

“I will hand over power with a smile because it is my constitutional duty to do so, but my leader is Raila Odinga,” said Kenyatta, who lamented that the former opponent and now ally failed to win the elections, as reported by the Kenyan newspaper ‘ The Star’.

“You have denied yourself the opportunity to unite the country. You have not rejected Raila,” he said, hours after Ruto confirmed his first conversation with the president since the elections. The Kenyan vice president himself has regretted in recent hours that Kenyatta has not congratulated him.

In this sense, he has stated in statements given to the American television network that “the important thing” is that he has achieved victory. “Unfortunately, the president has not seen fit to congratulate me, but no problem. Perhaps he is a little disappointed or sad that I defeated his candidate. It is the nature of politics,” he explained.

Kenyatta and Ruto forged their alliance after his indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity after the 2007 presidential elections, of which they were finally acquitted. Both were accused of orchestrating the violence that followed the presidential elections of December 2007, which caused more than 1,200 deaths and around 350,000 displaced people.

Later, they joined forces for the 2013 elections against Odinga, until then prime minister and who at first did not recognize Kenyatta’s victory in those elections or in those of 2017. However, both politicians distanced themselves in the latter elections, although the now president-elect remained in office because the president did not have the authority to dismiss him.