William Ruto is not my President, says Martha Karua

Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has confirmed that she does not recognize William Ruto as the President of Kenya.

Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Thursday, December 28, Karua noted that the constitution allows her to express her feelings about the country’s leadership.

“Ruto is not my president. I reckon he is in office however he got there. I don’t believe in the process that gave him,” said Karua during the interview.

Karua explained that she doesn’t believe in the process that gave Ruto the presidency, claiming that the process was flawed.

Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua. She has insisted that she does not recognize William Ruto as president of Kenya. Photo: Courtesy

At the same time, she disagreed with the Supreme Court decision that upheld the former IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati’s declaration of William Ruto as the winner of the August 9, 2022 presidential election.

” I don’t agree with the court’s decision where it found that three is a majority out of seven. Even without saying so, If four commissioners say they cannot support the presidential declaration and the court trashes them, it legitimising that three can overrule four in a panel,” Karua explained.

She recalled that during the release of presidential results, four former IEBC commissioners had distanced themselves from the presidential election results as announced by Chebukati.

“Chebukati’s decision was forced upon us. Even if it binds us, I don’t have to believe in it. That’s all I’m saying,” Karua added.

The four former IEBC commissioners; Juliana Cherera (vice chairperson), Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang’aya, and Irene Masit at that time said they couldn’t own the results because of the opaque nature of the manner in which they were handled.

This is not the first time for Karua to clarify that she does not recognize William Ruto as president.

For instance, in June 2023, during an interview with NTV, Karua claimed that President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza government was not legitimate.

President William Ruto during NYS pass out ceremony on December 8, 2023. Photo: William Ruto/X

In a separate incident during an interview with Spice Fm in November 2022, the Narc Kenya party leader who was Raila’s running mate in the August 2022 elections, insisted that she does not recognize Ruto as President.

At that time, she stated that she did not recognize Ruto’s presidency, insisting that it was only law that recognizes him as Head of State.

“He’s the president courtesy of the law. I do not have to over-praise that position. I said I respect the court verdict but totally disagree with it,” she said.