I Will Respect Supreme Court Verdict- Ruto
He termed this the “last phase of the election” while urging leaders to give the court room to discharge their mandate peacefully.
Marvin Chege 
President-elect William Ruto has revealed that he will respect whatever verdict the Supreme Court gives in the determination of presidential petitions filed to invalidate his victory over Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga, in the August 9 general elections.
Speaking while attending the swearing-in ceremony of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja at the Kenyatta International Conventional Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Thursday, August 25, he urged leaders to respect the rule of law by letting the apex court do its work.
He termed this the “last phase of the election” while urging them to give the court room to discharge their mandate peacefully.
President-elect William Ruto watching on as Johnson Sakaja is sworn in as Nairobi Governor on August 25, 2022. /FILE
“I'm asking all of us as leaders to listen to what the people of Kenya are saying so that we can conclude the remaining steps of our election, in a peaceful, orderly, respectful manner, respecting all the institutions that will discharge their responsibilities because we are a country governed by the rule of law and by our constitution,” he addressed.
He further asked them to move on from matters concerning the elections, giving an example of how Kenyans have carried on with their lives amidst uncertainty surrounding the presidential election results contested at the court.
Ruto revealed that the citizens demonstrated that they want their country peaceful and their politics non-tribal.
“In this election, we have seen a very new phenomenon. That we all voted and the next day we were ready to go to work and go on with our lives and everybody on to their hustle.
"That is the loud statement that is coming from the people of Kenya to those of us who are leaders," he added.
The seven-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Martha Koome has until Monday, September 5 to hear and determine nine petitions on the presidential election; eight filed against the results and one by former Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria seeking to block Raila's petition.
Kuria claimed in his petition that Raila had used chief agent Saitabao Ole Kanchory and others to conduct violence at the Bomas of Kenya which saw Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair Wafula Chebukati assaulted moments before he announced the presidential results.
The violence at the National Tallying Centre, he noted, had prevented Chebukati from carrying out his mandate and announcing the results that were pending in a number of constituencies.
In Raila's petition, he wants the Supreme Court to declare that the unconstitutionality, non-compliance, illegalities, irregularities and improprieties in the Presidential Election were substantial and significant in that they affected the presidential election results.
In addition, he wants the court to declare that the August 9 general elections were not conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the applicable law rendering the declared result invalid, null and void.
Raila also wants the court to declare that Ruto was not validly declared as the president-elect and that the declaration is invalid, null and void. He also wants the IEBC to conduct a fresh election in strict conformity with the Constitution and the Elections Act.
Raila Odinga presents his petition documents at Milimani Law Courts. /TWITTER
