President Uhuru Uses Former US Secretary of State John Kerry's Video Recording to Defend His Re-Election

President Uhuru Kenyatta's legal team on Tuesday used a video recording of former US Secretary of State John Kerry, where Kerry confessed that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) adequately put in place systems to ensure the integrity of the 2017 General Election.

While making his submissions in the case filed by National Super Alliance leader Raila Odinga who seeks the nullification of Presudent Uhuru's victory, lawyer Fred Ngatia representing Uhuru Kenyatta in the petition played the video of Kerry before Supreme Court judges to back his argument that Uhuru was validly elected in a free and fair elections.

Kerry, who was one of the international observers of August elections under US Jimmy Carter Centre, pointed out that all parties were given an opportunity to state whether they agreed or disagreed with the Forms 34A tally. “We observed an election process with more than 400 observers from nine different missions who all agreed that the basic process of carrying out the election was quite positive, even if there were little aberrations here and there,” Kerry said in response to a question on the validity of the elections. He further noted that the General Election was ultimately a paper ballot. “We believe that the elections commission in Kenya has put together a process that will allow each and every votes integrity to be proven and to be protected. Everyone was present when the ballots were open; they were present when they were closed,” he said.

Ngatia argued that based on the remarks by Kerry, the court should be focusing on the Forms 34A and described the discrepancies raised by Nasa as totally insignificant.