MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Raila Odinga, the leader of Kenyan opposition National Super Alliance (NASA), decided to challenge the election outcome in the Kenyan Supreme Court in the wake of a crackdown on human rights organizations, which oversaw the vote.
"The raid on the civil society, the determination to silence all voices that could seek legal regress like the AfriCOG [Africa Centre for Open Governance] and Kenya National Human Rights Commission, we have now decided to move to the Supreme Court," Odinga said at a press conference.
The opposition leader pointed out that a large amount of Kenyans did not accept the election result.
"Fellow Kenyans, we refuse to sit and watch the Jubilee [rival political party] turn our country into Banana Republic," Odinga added.
Local watchdogs Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and African Center for Open Governance to the Director of Criminal Investigation (AfriCOG) were overseeing the presidential election in Kenya.
On Saturday, the KNCHR said that 24 people died during protests that erupted following the announcement of the election results. The NGO attributed the deaths to police using live ammunition.
Following the KNCHR's report, Kenya’s NGO Coordination Board announced that it was canceling the KNCHR's registration on charges of operating illegal bank accounts and non-payment of taxes. The regulator also sent a request for the closure of AfriCOG, accusing it of failure to register as an NGO.
