Kenya's ambassador to the United States Robinson Githae and US-based legal scholar Makau Mutua publicly differed over the outcome of the presidential election at a conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Githae maintained that the Supreme Court robbed President Uhuru Kenyatta of his win and went against the will of Kenyans.
“I can categorically say here looking you straight in the eye that the Supreme Court robbed Uhuru Kenyatta of his win and stole the election from the Kenyan people,” declared Amb. Githae.
Mutua, on the other hand, suggested that the election had been stolen from the National Super Alliance (NASA) candidate, Raila Odinga.
“It was not just the presidential election that was invalid. It was the entire election. The whole thing was rotten," stated Prof Mutua.
Mutua added that he was happy he didn't get the job of Chief Justice because if he would have ruled against Mr Kenyatta, he would have been 'lynched in the public square.'
Githae, however, argued that the Supreme Court had no basis for nullifying the election saying: “Not a single election agent has even sworn an affidavit saying the results at a polling station were different from what was announced by the IEBC."
Mr Mutua, who currently holds the post of distinguished professor and faculty scholar at a New York State University Law School, also said he was stunned by the Supreme Court's action —but for a different reason.
“What is shocking to me and puts paid to the claim the ambassador is making that Jubilee won the election is the fact that a court of essentially conservative, establishment jurists have overturned an election in Africa for the first time,” Prof Mutua noted.
“They have made us proud, extremely proud. They have established a position that is going to reverberate throughout Africa,” he added.
Ambassador Githae took a contrasting position on elections in Africa asserting: “The problem in Africa is that people don't accept to lose. If you lose an election, it's been rigged, the election has been stolen."
The two spoke as part of a panel at the 10th annual Kenya Scholars and Studies Association.
