The official result is announced ...

"President Uhuru Kenyatta has won a second term in office, garnering 54.2 per cent of votes, according to final results declared by the electoral commission on Friday night. Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati declared Mr Kenyatta the winner of the presidential race at exactly 10.17pm EAT.

“He attained 25 percent of votes cast in 35 counties ” Mr Chebukati, the returning officer of the presidential election, said at Bomas of Kenya— the national tallying centre, in the capital Nairobi.  The announcement was met with celebrations in the strongholds of Mr Kenyatta’s party, Jubilee, and protests amongst some Nasa supporters.

President Kenyatta won with 8.2 million votes compared to 6.8 million votes for his closest rival Raila Odinga of the National Super Alliance (Nasa).  Mr Kenyatta, riding on a well-oiled campaign machinery, prevailed despite persistent dissatisfaction with the economy and a hard-fought challenge by Mr Odinga."

(From the Daily Nation latest news.)

This was the expected result really, and now its up to the population to accept it, and get on with life.  Here in the UK, we had a referendum about staying in or out of the EU .... and like it or not (and many don't like it !) we are now going to leave the EU.   Here, in Britain, we remembered Passchendaele a few weeks ago, and I read this:-   "The real monument to those who lost their lives at Passchendaele is not the Menin Gate, it’s the European Union. It’s not perfect, and it’s not as dramatic as the Menin Gate, but it has been a damn sight more successful at stopping the pointless slaughter of Europeans."

In my experience, political results are almost never what I hope for or expect !  C'est la vie !  And lets hope that those who have lost in Kenya can accept the results with a good grace, and try to put aside suspicions and grievances .... there's another election in 2022 !!

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Back to photos ....  

I found this one today; footprints in the sand; there is a print of a boot at the top, but look at the others ... the hand and foot of a baboon !