By Ayo Kehinde
Former Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyem has expressed disappointment in President Uhuru Kenyatta while assessing the legacy of the Kenya President in office on the backdrop of the concluded presidential election in the East African country.
Speaking in an interview with Arise TV programme, The Morning Show, on Tuesday, the professor of political science and one-time Director -General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, said the outgoing president of Kenya would leave a doubtful legacy that does not match his educational and political background.
According to him; “First, there is the allegations of his role by the International Court of Justice for the violence after the 2017 presidential election. Two, when the Kenyan Supreme Court ruled for rerun of the election, the language he used was so unbecoming of somebody of the pedigree, of the calibre and who aspired to rule that country.
“I was disappointed. In Nigeria we had had cases going to Supreme Court and there are people who disagreed with the ruling but I have never found Nigerians used such fowl language. He also dipped his hand in the kitty like all other African leaders. I don’t think anything he did than this negative aspect, when he supported the opposition candidate against his Vice President, William Ruto. Why did he fall out with and Ruto.?
“It was because Kenyatta wanted to amend the constitution so he could run for a third term. Even at this last stage, when the electoral umpire had declared Ruto the winner of the presidential election, Kenyatta should have said the people have spoken and I would take any Kenya to task that causes trouble. So far he has not congratulated Ruto even after the electoral umpire has declared his victory. His keeping quiet shows he is complicit with what doubt that is being cast the results. It all shows negative tendencies. So I don’t think his legacy would be positive.”
Akinyemi also faulted the outgoing president over the disagreement of four electoral commissioners against the victory of William Ruto as President-elect of Kenya, saying the action was probably a game plan by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta to ruin his Vice President’s victory.
Arguing that he based his statement on sources in Kenya, Akinyemi said the four electoral commissioners were appointed by Kenyatta, who had supported and campaigned for the opposition candidate, Raily Odinga. Odinga polled 49 per cent of the total votes cast against Ruto’s 50.5 per cent.
He said; “Practically all the four commissioners are going to have a hard time at the Supreme Court proving their case because the electoral portals were opened where the results forms were signed by returning officers attesting to the authentication of results and they were sent straight to the computers. So were did the false result and the opaqueness to challenge the results.?”
He however said the disagreement with the results by Odinga may be difficult to prove because independent European observers with data stated that the results largely reflected the outcomes.
Though he thinks Ruto may not fulfil his electoral promises as is characteristics of politicians everywhere who manage to try and bring in outsiders into the establishment, he praised the President-elect for taking on his boss, Kenyatta who supported the opposition as part of the political dynasty in Kenya that played out in the election.
