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Saturday in Kenya, the Supreme Court of the country, upheld the results of the March 4, 2013 elections. Kenyatta had received 50.07 % of the vote, winning the election and narrowly avoiding a run-off with his rival, Raila Odinga. Odinga contested the validity of the election process and results in court. Chief Justice Willy Mutunga said the court had agreed unanimously that the election had been conducted "in compliance with the constitution and the law" and the result was valid. The following is the court order: REPUBLIC OF KENYA IN THE SUPREME COURT OF KENYA AT NAIROBI (Coram: Mutunga CJ, Tunoi, Ibrahim, Ojwang, Wanjala, Njoki SCJJ) PETITION NO. 5 OF 2013 RAILA ODINGA …………………………………………1ST PETITIONER MOSES KIARIE KURIA) DENIS NJUE ITUMBI)…………………………………….2ND PETITIONER FLORENCE JEMATIAH SERGON ) GLADWELL WATHONI OTIENO ) ZAHID RAJAN )…………………………………………3RD PETITIONER AND INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL AND BOUNDARIES COMMISSION ………….1ST RESPONDENT AHMED ISSACK HASSAN

I'm fascinated by the story of First People's around the world. As an adult, I've made it a point to learn as much as possible about the First People's of particular countries where I've travelled.  I've been astounded to see so many similarities in cultures and beliefs despite the obvious differences of land, language and food. About a year ago I attended the local Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF). The VSAFF is in it's 3rd year here in Vancouver. On April 13 and 14th, it will present features and documentaries that explore the culture, history and politics of South Africa. The proceeds of VSAFF go to Education Without Borders , a Canadian organization which provides educational opportunities in disadvantaged areas of the world. Currently EWB is focussing on the township of Gugulethu, South Africa. So at this point you might be asking yourself what is the connection between First Peoples and the VSAFF? This year one of the VSAFF films is &

I often hear from people who would like to sponsor a child but just haven't taken the steps to do it. I like to talk about my experiences from time to time as a way to bring awareness to the need and also to help others who are thinking about child sponsorship. About a month ago I wrote about my two new sponsored children in Zambia. First up is Hiness who is 12 years old and in Grade 6.  Next is Lindunda who is 15 years old and in grade 7. After sponsoring these two children, I felt led to help another one. His name is Humphrey and he is in Grade 2. I don't know his age yet. These children go to school in Livingston, Zambia. I have written my first letters to these precious young children and am excitedly waiting to hear back from them.  I've been spending a fair bit of time shopping for appropriate things to send to them every few months so that I can have them on hand for when I am ready to send them other letters. All 3 of these children go to Christian S

Dear friends, Since my last post about court challenges to the conduct and outcome of the Kenyan elections, the Supreme Court has begun to deal with the many applications put before it. Several of the court's decisions have been around who has standing (right to appear in court on the issues) and whether certain applications/petitions were filed on time, etc. On Monday, March 25, 2013, the Supreme Court ordered a recount of ballots cast at 22 polling stations before it rules on the validity of the recent elections which were held on March 4, 2013.  “The re-tally shall aim at establishing whether the number of votes cast in each of these 22 polling stations exceeds the number of registered voters,” Justice Smokin Wanjala said at a pretrial hearing today in Nairobi. The six judge panel of the Supreme Court has until Saturday March 30, 2013, to decide whether the President-Elect, Uhuru Kenyatta should be confirmed as the country's new President, or whether new electio

I left off in my last post with news of the victorious Jubilee Alliance leaders, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who were declared winners of the Presidency and Vice-Presidency in the recent Kenyan elections. I also posted about Raila Odinga's plans to contest the election results. The Honourable Odinga was vying for the Presidency and he and his running mate, Kilonzo Musyoka, felt that the election process was ripe with fraud or vote rigging and that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed in a number of areas concerning the conduct of the election process. These children live in a very dry part of Kenya where water is a problem. They are standing at the site of an uncompleted water project. Kenya's new Constitution provides for the legal contest and indeed this is a vast improvement over civil strife and mayhem that occurred after the last election results were disputed in 2007.  Odinga filed his legal challenge today ( Saturday ) in the coun

In my last post I asked for prayer for the nation and the people of Kenya who on March 4 this week, underwent their first national election since 2007.  After the election results were announced in 2007, horrendous violence broke out.  About 1200 people were murdered and countless people became internal refugees as clashes broke out over ethnic rivalries and Presidential election outcomes. It took a lot of negotiations, diplomatic interventions and Constitutional reform to try to bring hope to the ordinary citizen of Kenya. National elections again took place on March 4, 2013.  One of the candidates vying for Presidency (Uhuru Kenyatta) and his running mate (William Ruto), face crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the Hague.  Uhuru Kenyatta's trial  at the ICC was to begin in April but as of March 8th his trial date has been set for July 9, 2013.  Generally in courts, one is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty, but the ICC and many Kenya

Dear friends, Kenya is having a national election on Monday, March 4, 2013.  For those of us in the western Hemisphere, it will still be Sunday evening while Kenyans are out voting. The last Kenyan national elections were held December 27, 2007. It was a violent time. Kenyans and their supporters abroad don't want a repeat of this. Please keep Kenya in your prayers for a peaceful outcome to their elections on Monday, March 4, 2013, and for God's hand to be involved in leadership selection. Have a great weekend and may God bless your leadership too.