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Having recently lost in the presidential election to president-elect William Ruto, Azimio la Umoja coalition flagbearer Raila Odinga suffered the same fate on Monday after his petition challenging the presidential results was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
The seven-judge bench rejected all the issues that the consolidated petition had raised as the basis on which Ruto’s win should have been overturned.
In a strong-worded summary of the verdict, the judges observed that the petitioners hadn’t presented enough evidence to warrant nullification of an election.
Following the loss, the former Opposition leader has been asked to respectfully exit the political stage and handover the baton to a more vibrant successor.
Appearing on TV47, Kipipiri MP-elect Wanjiku Muhia offered a free piece of advice to the former prime minister that time has come for him to bless a younger leader from his tribe, region or party to carry on the opposition work.
The MP, who overcame a myriad of challenges in her battle against former Majority Leader Amos Kimunya, noted that the current political set up requires a leader with fresh and competitive ideas.
“Him being 77 years in five years time he will be 83 so he should retire. During the political period we would say that we will put him on a wheelbarrow and take him to Bondo but for purposes of moving forward, he should respectfully retire and handover to someone who can competitively deal with the current politics. Everyone has seen that Kenya has come of age and you must do your politics very smartly,” she advised.
She pointed out that the country has come of age and the politics of using the state system and intimidation has no place anymore.
She noted that Ruto’s win was testament that everyone in the country should aspire to dream, regardless of their background.
“President-elect William Ruto’s triumph has shown us that our backgrounds should not dictate our destiny,” she stated.
The lawmaker further faulted outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta for seemingly disagreeing with the court’s decision, noting that in 2017, the court was keen on the process followed by IEBC but in the current case, the petitioners presented zero shred of evidence to convince the judges.
She further wondered why the outgoing head of state would not be bold enough to congratulate the president-elect now that the last legal hindrance to Ruto’s swearing-in had been removed.