Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party captain Raila Odinga has declined an invitation to attend William Ruto’s swearing-in ceremony.
President-elect William Ruto and Deputy President-elect Rigathi Gachagua will be sworn in on Tuesday, September 13, at the Moi Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.
In a statement on Monday, September 12, the former Prime Minister said he had received an invitation to attend but will not attend.
Raila who is out of the country said that he still believes the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) bungled the August 9, presidential election.
“This evening, I received a letter and a telephone call from William Ruto inviting me to his inauguration set for tomorrow, September 13, 2022,
“However, I will not be available for the inauguration because I am out of the country and I also have other serious concerns,” said Raila.
The veteran politician further said that he respects the recent Supreme Court ruling that validated William Ruto’s presidential win although it was not fair something that will make him not attend his inauguration.
“Secondly, I believe that the ruling of the Supreme Court was not based on the facts and the law, even though we accepted it. For these reasons, the outcome of the election remains indeterminate,” Raila said.
The ODM leader promised to announce the next course of action once he is back in the country.
“Once I return to the country, I will, jointly with Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition Party leaders, announce our next steps as we seek to deepen and strengthen our democracy,” Raila said.
Ruto’s swearing-in comes just days after the seven judges of the Supreme Court quashed Raila Odinga’s 72-page petition.
In the just-ended presidential election, Ruto garnered 71. million votes against Raila 6.9 million votes.
