President William Ruto has defended his decision to congratulate his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu Hassan, following a controversial presidential win that sparked outrage.
In an interview with Al Jazeera journalist James Bay, President Ruto said that a landslide victory of 97 percent can only be achieved depending on the level of democracy in a given country.
The interview took place in Doha, Qatar, where the President joined world leaders for the United Nations Second World Summit for Social Development.
“It is not for me to judge Tanzania. In a democracy, for example in Kenya, you can never get 96 percent. Every country has its way of doing their stuff,” President Ruto said.
In this case, Mr Ruto said that given the current political landscape in Kenya, such a victory would also be highly unlikely.
As Chairperson of the East African Community (EAC), the President said that it is important to uphold the rule of law and allow democracy to flourish as part of development.
“The primary thing is, democracy is the best governance system. It is not tidy always. It is not always easy because there are all manner of moving parts, but I think we must work together to ensure we protect democracy.
President Ruto said that there is a need for African leaders to stick to democracy and give a room to dissenting voices.
“We must always give ourselves the opportunity to listen to alternative view without injecting violence into the equation.”
Hundreds of foreigners, including Kenyans, are still being held by President Samia's government for allegedly taking part in demonstrations that caused chaos during the election period.
Since then, the opposition side, including the Chadema party, has disputed the outcome.
They are demanding that the international community should take action and not going silent while families continue to mourn their loves ones who are said to have been killed during the protests.
In a statement released hours before President Samia's inauguration, Mr Ruto said that her victory would strengthen Kenya's ties with Tanzania.
“Kenya and Tanzania share deep historical ties and common aspirations for the prosperity and stability of our peoples, anchored in our shared history and our joint membership in the East African Community (EAC),” President Ruto said in his statement.
In the same interview, President Ruto said that democracy in the region is in progress, and that Kenya’s level of democracy should not be compared to its neighbouring countries.
“Democracy is work in progress, it spans different stages. There are countries like Kenya that are way ahead, there are others that are catching up, and there are others that are still not yet started. We see changes everywhere.”
According to him, the uprising was not just an African issue but a global one that has also been witnessed in the United States and other countries as well.
The President’s comments come at the time when the lobby groups in Kenya are demanding for answers over the continued target of Kenyan citizens in Tanzania and Uganda.
Recently, two Kenyans, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, were detained in Uganda for 38 days for participating in the campaigns of Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine), who is challenging President Yoweri Museveni in the January election.
President Museveni admitted that he detained the two following the intelligence reports that they were experts in riots.
