Former Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga told an audience at the Woodraw Wilson Center inWashington, DC yesterday that he won both the 2007 and 2013 Kenya presidential elections.He added that he disputed the results of both elections, but to avoid protests and bloodshed in the country, he chose to accept the results. "The easier option is for you to accept the results announced by the election commission and then negotiate your way out," he added. He also said he disagreed with the Kenya Supreme Court’s ruling which struck out his petition of this year’s elections, saying “I told people I accept it in the interests of people in the country. If I refused to accept it, many more people would have died."
Raila also urged the Kenyan government to follow the recommendations of the recently released report by the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), including apologizing for all the abuses by the government since independence. He also supported the government’s decision to begin repatriation of Somali refugees currently in Kenyan refugees camps back to Somalia following the Kenya Defence Forces’ efforts that helped create a more stable and peaceful Somalia.
He was speaking at a briefing at the Wilson Center that discussed the past 50 years, highlighting both achievements and challenges for the African continent.
Watch his entire speech below:
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his brother is a Luo elder