Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga said on Wednesday he would challenge last week's presidential election result in court, calming fears that further street protests by his supporters might lead to widespread violence. At least 24 people have been killed since the August 8 vote, many of them shot by police. But while there have been scattered protests in Odinga strongholds, the demonstrations were relatively muted as supporters waited to hear what Odinga had to say.
When Odinga, a 72-year-old former political prisoner, called a news conference after days of public silence, crowds clustered around televisions and radios in the slums, falling silent as he began to speak. "We have now decided to move to the Supreme Court," Odinga told a bank of television cameras in the capital Nairobi. "This is just the beginning, we will not accept and move on."
The election board said on Friday Kenyatta had beaten Odinga by 1.4 million votes to win a second five-year term. Odinga disputes that figure but has not yet provided proof of rigging. The move to the judiciary will relieve Kenyans who feared a repeat of the violence that followed the flawed 2007 vote, when Odinga called for protests which led to a police crackdown and ethnic violence. Around 1,200 people died.
Odinga also contested - and officially lost - the 2013 election but quelled potential violence by taking his case to court. Judges ruled that much of his evidence was submitted outside time limits set by the court, which raised suspicion among his supporters of the judiciary's independence. Odinga acknowledged those frustrations, even as he backtracked on earlier opposition statements that going to court was not an option.
"Our decision to go to court constitutes a second chance for the Supreme Court. The court can use this chance to redeem itself," he said. His announcement follows days of intense behind-the-scenes negotiations, with diplomats urging him not to call for protests. International and domestic observers have said the polls were largely free and fair.