ED congratulates Ruto
BUSINESS REPORTER
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has congratulated William Ruto on winning the elections to become Kenya’s fifth leader since independence.
Ruto was named as the winner by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission after garnerning 7,176,141 votes (50.49%) against closest rival Raila Odinga who polled 6,942,930 (48.85%).
Writing on his Twitter account President Mnangagwa said: “Congratulations to @WilliamsRuto on his election as the next President of Kenya. I have no doubt he will serve his country, his people and our continent with distinction.”
The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), which has been rooting for Odinga, had not commented on the outcome of the results.
However, in a tweet, the party’s spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere dwelt on the lessons learnt from the Kenyan elections.
“Kenya is a sign that women must take up space. Kenya is a sign that we must learn & grow from our past mistakes. Kenya is a sign that elections work. Kenya is a sign that ZEC must reform,” Mahere tweeted.
After Hichilema Hikainde’s victory in Zambia last year, CCC had tipped Odinga (77) to win which would have galvanised Zimbabwe’s biggest opposition formation ahead of next year’s harmonised elections.
