KENYA: Kenyatta to take oath of office as opposition plan a parallel rally

President elect Uhuru Kenyatta will be sworn in today for his second and last term following a controversial poll which the opposition boycotted as the Raila Odinga led faction prepares for a parallel rally.

Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will take oath of office in the country’s capital in an event to be attended by 11 heads of states among them President Mohamed Farmaajo.

The opposition group NASA gave the October 26 poll a wide berth giving Kenyatta a walk over garnering 98% of the vote. The country’s Supreme Court last week upheld Kenyatta’s election paving way for his swearing in. The same court had annulled Kenyatta’s election in the August 8 poll ordering a fresh poll in 60 days.

Kenyatta is now faced with the daunting task of uniting a deeply divided country which has seen the opposition declare it would not recognise him as president. At least half of the country did not vote in the October 26 poll with the electoral body IEBC reporting a 38% turn out. The local media reported this past week opposition leader Raila Odinga opposed attempts by his faction to swear him in as president noting such a move would taint his image internationally and run counter to the constitution.

But Odinga who has had a stab at the presidency for the fourth time with no avail has maintained his faction’s continuation of pushing forward with the formation of the People’ Assembly as part of the civil disobedience stance. A high court last week issued an injunction halting the formation of the People’s Assembly.

Resuscitating East Africa’s largest economy is also a task ahead for Kenyatta following a yearlong campaigning and electoral period which has had a big hit on the economy. A boycott on certain products and companies including the country’s biggest telco, Safaricom by the opposition has also exacerbated the worsening economic situation of the country.

NASA said it would be holding a solidarity conference in the city today to mourn its supporters felled by the police during the electoral period including around five killed when Odinga arrived in the country last week after a 10 day long tour of the US.

Among those attending the inauguration are Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, Namibia’s Hage Geingob, Faure Gnassingbé of Togo among others.