Kenya’s Supreme Court has ruled that William Ruto was properly elected president, dismissing several petitions seeking to annul the result of the 9 August election. His rival, Raila Odinga, and others had alleged there had been massive fraud. But in a scathing ruling, the judges said some of the petitioners had falsified evidence. Mr Ruto garnered 50.5% of the vote in the closely fought election against 48.8% for Mr Odinga.

The 55-year-old will be sworn in as the country’s fifth president next week. Following the ruling, Mr Ruto said he would extend a hand of friendship to his political opponents, and praised the judiciary and the electoral commission for upholding the “will of the people”. Despite being the current deputy president, Mr Ruto was not backed by the outgoing President, Uhuru Kenyatta, who instead campaigned for his former rival, Mr Odinga.(BBC)…[+]