Kenya’s president sworn-in amidst tension of opposition’s uprising

. Odinga fixes own swearing in December 12
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn-in for a second five-year term in front of a rapturous crowd on Tuesday, as the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, announced his own swearing in for December 12th.

The swearing in took place as riot police sealed off an area where the opposition planned a rival gathering and teargassed people trying to reach it.
According to agency report, the swearing in which took place amid thousands of cheering crowds, the president took the oath of office in the ceremony that was attended by at least 10 African heads of state and other dignitaries.

“I … do swear … that I will always truly and diligently serve the people of the Republic of Kenya,” Kenyatta said, his hand resting on a Bible.
Kenyatta won a repeat presidential election on October 26 that was boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair.

The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election, in August, over irregularities.
The extended election season has divided Kenya, a Western ally in a volatile region, and blunted growth in East Africa’s richest economy.
Odinga’s supporters, many drawn from poorer parts of the country, feel locked out of power and the patronage it brings.

Political arguments often have ethnic undercurrents, with Odinga’s supporters pointing out that three of the country’s four presidents have come from one ethnic group, although the country has 44 recognized groups.
But such arguments seemed far from the happy crowds at the celebration, who cheered

wildly as Kenyatta was sworn into office and as he received a 21-gun salute.
Before he arrived, a military band in gold and blue uniforms serenaded heads of state from Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Zambia and other nations as they arrived at the stadium where the ceremony took place.
Meanwhile, Odinga has announced that he will be sworn-in on December 12 as Kenya’s president.

Kenya’s main opposition leader, Raila Odinga has promised supporters that he would be sworn-in as president on December 12.
The announcement comes shortly after the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta who was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday.

Expert say such a move would only deepen divisions opened by the extended election season in Kenya, a Western ally in a volatile region.
Months of acrimonious campaigns and sporadic clashes have already blunted growth in East Africa’s richest economy.

At a lavish inauguration attended by the heads of many African nations, Kenyatta did his best to paint a picture of a country moving beyond that divide.
“The elections are now firmly behind us, I will devote my time and energy to build bridges,” he told a rapturous crowd as he was sworn in for a second, five-year term in a sports stadium in the capital, Nairobi.

But, he warned, Kenyans needed to “free ourselves from the baggage of past grievances, and keep to the rule of law”.
Such words may ring hollow to citizens accustomed to the government ignoring detailed reports on corruption from the country’s auditor-general and documentation of hundreds of extrajudicial police killings every year from human rights groups.

Last year, Kenyatta angered many Kenyans by saying he wanted to tackle corruption but his “hands are tied”. His government has also promised to improve police accountability, but an independent watchdog has only ever managed convict two officers of murder despite thousands of brutality complaints.

Kenyatta won a repeat presidential election on Oct. 26 that was boycotted by Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair. The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election, in August, over irregularities.

Supporters of Kenyatta who won the October poll 98 percent of the vote after Odinga`s boycott – want the opposition to engage in talks and move on.
 

Bonny Amadi with agency reports