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An envoy of US president Joe Biden was yesterday engaged in high-level shuttle diplomacy between President Uhuru Kenyatta, President-Elect William Ruto and Azimio-One Kenya presidential candidate  Raila Odinga in an effort to resolve the standoff over the just-concluded presidential election whose results Raila has disputed.

Delaware Senator Chris Coons, who led the delegation, met Uhuru at State House. The outgoing Head of State made a commitment to maintain the country’s stability and ensure a peaceful transition.

Senator Coons, who is familiar with the three leaders, was in the country two days after Raila rejected the declaration of Ruto as the winner of the presidential election. He and his allies have indicated that they will be challenging the results of the poll at the Supreme Court on Monday.

The current visit is the third by the US Democratic Party senator to Kenya, having featured in the behind-the-scenes push for the 2018 Handshake as well as the 2020 National Prayer Breakfast Meeting. During his last visit, he spoke highly of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), which the President and Raila championed, but which was stopped by the Supreme Court.

Shining example

At State House, Uhuru said Kenya would remain steadfast in entrenching the principles of good governance and uphold its position as a shining example of democracy in the continent by maintaining peace during the transition period. “My greatest desire is that peace will prevail and we may set an example on the continent and the world,” Uhuru said at the meeting.

Among those who attended the talks were Cabinet Secretaries Raychelle Omamo (Foreign Affairs), Betty Maina (Trade), and the US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman. Coons thanked Uhuru for ensuring that peace and stability prevailed during the election period.

Interestingly, Coons attended the same university as Uhuru — Amherst College in Massachusetts — where they both pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Political Science and Government, graduating in 1985.

“We are encouraged by the peace Kenya has continued to experience during this period,” said Coons. This was the first time Uhuru was making a public appearance since he voted in Gatundu on August 9.

After the State House talks, Coons and Whitman met Ruto and his team. The talks, Ruto said, touched on the polls and areas of cooperation between Kenya and the US.

“We commit to deepen relations and further partnership for the mutual benefit of the citizens of the two countries,” said a statement posted on Ruto’s official Facebook page.

Coons later met Raila to discuss developments around the General Election, the US-Kenya bilateral relations and the strengthening of trade.

Among those who attended the talks were Raila’s running mate Martha Karua, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o and Raila’s campaign secretariat spokesman Ptof Makau Mutua.

Raila told the US delegation that Azimio would continue to pursue lawful channels to challenge the outcome announced by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati on Monday. “Raila and his delegation reiterated their commitment to pursuing constitutional and lawful channels and processes to resolve outstanding issues with regard to presidential election results,” read a statement sent by Raila’s private Press secretary, Dennis Onyango.

Coons and his delegation arrived on Wednesday night as part of his visits to five African countries. Kenya is the third that he has visited. Besides politicians, Coons will meet conservationists, health services providers and organisations working to empower girls.

On Tuesday, Raila, who spoke for the first time since the announcement of poll results, said he was preparing for a legal battle to challenge Chebukati’s declaration of Ruto as the winner of the presidential election. He said the figures claimed by Chebukati were null and void and should be thrown out by a competent court of law.

Ruto and his running mate, Gachagua Rigathi, got 7.1 million votes against Raila’s and Karua’s 6.9 million, according to IEBC.

Raila said Chebukati had acted with gross impunity and in total disregard of the Constitution and the laws of Kenya, adding that the declaration could have plunged the country into chaos had Azimio supporters not exercised restraint.

One of the grounds for his rejection of the vote was the disagreement that rocked the electoral commission just before Chebukati announced the winner. Four of the seven commissioners rejected the results before they were read on Monday, saying the last phase of tallying had been opaque and, therefore, they did not feel confident owning the tallies. They also questioned why the tallied votes were 100.01 per cent.

Vowing to fight the results, Raila said: “In our view, there is neither a legally and validly declared winner nor a president-elect. Chebukati’s announcement purporting to announce a winner is a nullity”.

It was a busy day for Uhuru, who met religious leaders at State House and assured them that the transition would be smooth.