06 September 2022

• William Ruto was announced as the 5th president of Kenya after the Supreme Court upheld IEBC's announcement.

Kenya officially has its 5th head of state after the Supreme Court upheld IEBC's earlier announcement that Dr. William Samoei Ruto had attained the 50%+1 threshold and no anomalies were found in the way the elections had been conducted.

Following the announcement, President-elect William Ruto and his Deputy President-elect Rigathi Gachagua will be sworn in at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Tuesday the 13th of September, 2022.

Gates to the facility will be opened as early as 4 am to allow members of the public to attend.

And get this, the ceremony is set to cost 200 million shillings and it will be a public holiday as well!

“Sh200 million has been provided in the FY 2022-2023 budget to undertake Assumption of Office activities to ensure a smooth transition to the next administration after the general election,” this is according to the Treasury’s Pre-Election economic update report.

The funds are allocated to the Assumption of Office Committee that is currently preparing for the transition of power from outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta to President-elect William Ruto.

The event, which is set to take place next week, September 13 (Tuesday), will see Ruto and his deputy president-elect Rigathi Gachagua being sworn to the presidency.

According to Chapter 141 of the Kenyan Constitution, the event is set to take place on the first Tuesday, seven days after the date on which the Supreme court renders a decision declaring the election to be valid.

The President-elect then assumes office by taking and subscribing to the oath of allegiance, and the oath for the execution of the functions of the office.

The Assumption of Office of the President Act sets up a committee to be charged with the management of the swearing-in event and giving security briefings to the incoming president.

Their schedule of activities started immediately after the court declared Ruto as President-elect, the same having been suspended ahead of the ruling.

The Act also specifies the exact times for particular activities, indicating that the oath is taken between 10 am and 2 pm on the identified date.

The Chief Justice will administer the oath of office to the President-elect alongside the registrar of the High Court then Ruto will be required to sign a certificate of inauguration in the presence of the Chief Justice or the Deputy Chief Justice.

Once the President-elect is sworn in his deputy will also take the oath of office after which President Uhuru Kenyatta will be expected to hand over the instruments of power such as the Constitution and the sword of power to the new head of State.

The outgoing President will then leave for the State House to officially hand over to his successor.