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WORLD NEWS Thursday 17 augusT 2017

Kenya opposition says it will challenge election in court

By TOM ODULA Wednesday made it clear
Associated Press they had changed their
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ke- minds.
nya’s opposition will chal- “We will not accept and
lenge the results of last move on,” he said. “We
week’s presidential elec- shall hold vigils, moments
tion in Supreme Court and of silence, beat drums and
wage a campaign of civil do everything else to draw
disobedience, its leader attention to the gross elec-
announced Wednesday, toral injustices.”
saying they intend to ex- The opposition has until
pose a “computer-gener- the end of Friday to file a
ated presidency.” petition challenging the
Raila Odinga told reporters vote results. Odinga’s court
that Kenyans won’t willing- challenge after losing the
ly go along with “democ- 2013 election to Kenyatta
racy’s slaughter.” was unsuccessful. Kenyatta
His comments had the won with just over 50 per-
potential to set off an- cent of that vote. No can-
other wave of protests in didate’s legal challenge
the capital, Nairobi, and against a presidential elec-
elsewhere that already tion in Kenya has ever been
have led to at least two successful. On Tuesday, the
dozen people shot dead election commission said it Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga, center, shakes the hand of a supporter as he leaves
by police since the Aug. was not yet able to provide after announcing they will challenge the results of last week’s presidential election in the
8 vote, according to one all the forms that were used Supreme Court and wage a campaign of “civil disobedience”, at a press conference in Nairobi,
prominent Kenyan human to tabulate the presidential Kenya Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017.
rights group. Odinga has election results, raising the (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
claimed that the election question of how it came up sults forms online. sition stronghold has seen in some areas over the
results were hacked and with the tally it announced The streets of Nairobi’s pop- some of the worst clashes past week, Kenya has ap-
rigged in favor of President Friday night. The European ulous slum of Kibera were between police and civil- peared to avoid a repeat
Uhuru Kenyatta, who won Union election observer empty ahead of Odinga’s ians protesting the results of the post-election vio-
a second term with 54 per- mission on Wednesday statements, with businesses after the electoral commis- lence a decade ago that
cent of the vote. Odinga urged Kenyan authorities closed as they awaited his sion announced Kenyat- left more than 1,000 people
claims the hackers used to promptly publish all re- announcement. The oppo- ta’s win. Despite the unrest dead. q
the identity of Christopher
Msando, an election offi-
cial in charge of the elec- South Africa:
tronic voting system who
was tortured and killed 5 years after 34 miners shot dead, no arrests
shortly before the vote.
Kenya’s election commis-
sion has said there was By KRISTA MAHR manding wage increases the anniversary. That’s de- national South Africa, said
a hacking attempt but it Associated Press and better living conditions spite President Jacob Zu- in a statement.
failed, and election ob- JOHANNESBURG (AP) — at a platinum mine operat- ma’s pledge last year that On Wednesday, rights
servers have said they saw Five years after South Af- ed by Lonmin Plc in Marika- criminal charges would be groups planned to picket
no signs of interference rican police shot dead 34 na. At least 70 were injured. brought against several se- outside Lonmin’s head-
with the vote. The opposi- striking mine workers, recall- The shootings shocked nior police officers. quarters and the South Afri-
tion has not presented any ing police brutality under South Africa, where min- “The tragedy of the Marika- can High Commission, both
evidence to back up its apartheid, rights groups ing is a major pillar of the na killings is compounded in London, to commemo-
claims of vote-rigging but say no one has been pros- economy. Despite the out- by the shocking fact that rate the five-year anniver-
it said Wednesday it would ecuted and miners’ living rage, no prosecutions have no one responsible for the sary.
do so in court. conditions are as “squalid” been made in connection bloodshed has yet been And thousands of people
The opposition last week as ever. with the killings, Amnesty In- held accountable,” Sheh- gathered at the site of
said going to court was not On Aug. 16, 2012, police ternational said in a report nilla Mohamed, executive the shootings to mark the
an option, but Odinga on opened fire on workers de- released this week to mark director of Amnesty Inter- anniversary.q