The Senegalese-American legendary singer is among the international celebrities to congratulate president-elect William Ruto for winning the just concluded elections.
Akon, who goes officially by Aliaune Akon Thiam, took to his Instagram page to congratulate Ruto. He termed Ruto as his brother,
His message went, “Congratulations to my dear brother William Ruto as he declared winner the presidential election in Kenya.”
Meanwhile, Tanzanian music kingpin Diamond also sent his congratulatory message to Kenyans. He commended Kenyans for maintaining peace despite the heated campaigning season. He urged them to continue with the same spirit as they focus on developing the country.
His message said, “Pongezi sana kwa Wana Kenya kwa kuhitimisha zoezi la uchaguzi na kumpata rais leo. Sasa hivi si team Ruto, Wajackoya amd team Raila Odinga. Ni kwa pamoja kuendeleza maendeleo ya Kenya na wana Kenya kwa jumla.”
The US Embassy, in a statement posted on Twitter, also congratulated Ruto and Kenyans for exercising their democratic rights most peacefully. The embassy assured Ruto and Kenyans of US support as they embarked on their new journey.
Ruto was declared the winner by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati after he garnered 7,176,141 votes, which represented 50.49% of the total votes. Raila came second with 6, 942, 930 votes, translating to 48%.
However, Ruto’s win was disputed by four commissioners, who claimed that the verification of results, the final stage of the electioneering process, was opaquely done. The four, who included Justus Nyang’aya, Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, and Francis Wanderi, held a separate briefing claiming they would not own the results. They, however, did not reveal details of the opaqueness of the verification process.
In his defense, Ruto insisted that his win was legitimate and disputers had the right to go to court.
