Julius Malema congratulates President-elect Ruto, calls for peace

South African politician and activist Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party has commended Kenya’s President-elect William Ruto for winning the August poll.

Malema, in a congratulatory message issued on Wednesday, said the Monday declaration by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) would be consequential in African development.

“The EFF congratulates the President-Elect of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto. The announcement of the results by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissions marks yet another milestone in the development of democratic values in Africa,” the party’s communications team wrote.

In the same light, Malema implored Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party chief Raila Odinga, who was announced the runner-up in the election, to concede defeat and contain his supporters.

“The EFF calls on the rival, the contestants and in particular, Raila Odinga to accept the results of the elections and act with restraint with their supporters,” read the statement.

“The EFF calls on the President-Elect and his supporters to be magnanimous in victory and Honorable Raila Odinga to be gracious in defeat for the good of peace and order in the nation of Kenya.”

Malema underscored that the outcome of the polls should not be used as a tool to pit rival communities against each other or relive the ghosts of past election outcomes.

“It should never be in the name of any presidential candidate that Africa should re-live the harrowing experience of the past characterized by an elections aftermath of brutal violence. Ever since the dawn of multiparty political dispensation in Kenya, inter-tribal violence by losers in the national elections has become the hallmark of elections,” added the statement.

Similarly, Malema urged key African bodies for peace such as the African Union and the East African Community (EAC) to partner with Kenya in the transition to a new governance.

“We call on the African Union and the regional body of East African states to monitor the situation and never hesitate to refer any post elections delinquent to the African Court of Human and People's Rights for a swift justice,” Malema stated.

Soon after the IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati declared Ruto the President-elect, African leaders came out to congratulate him on his victory.