The Kenya shilling has gained against the dollar following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election during the October 26 fresh presidential election.
Analysts at CBA bank say the shilling had initially lost ground Monday morning, only to reverse its losses and gain 20 cents immediately after the ruling.
“Going forward, we see range-bound trading as traders dig deeper to the Supreme Court ruling,” an analyst at the bank said.
The shilling was trading at 103.60 against 103.80 Monday.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange climbed 1.4%, highest level since September 22 while the yield on the Eurobond due in June 2024 fell 0.2% to 6.03%.
The same scenario was witnessed in August when the shilling gained an intra-day high of 103.65 per dollar, from 104 before the elections.
But following the September 1 nullification of the presidential election, the shilling fell by 0.4% within an hour following the ruling while the Nairobi Securities Exchange lost over Sh50 billion in about 10 minutes of the ruling.
On September 1, the apex court rendered a historical ruling in which it invalidated the initial August 8 presidential election – a first of its kind on the African continent – that was won by President Kenyatta following a petition filed by Kenyatta’s main challenger Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka.
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In Monday’s ruling, which was delivered by a six-member bench, the judges declined to grant prayers by two petitioners seeking the nullification of the election on grounds that it was not conducted in accordance with the Constitution.
“The court has unanimously determined that the petitions are not merited and the final orders are that the petition by John Harun Mwau versus the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and two others as consolidated is hereby dismissed.
“The petition by Njonjo Mue and another versus the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and three others as consolidated is also hereby dismissed. As a consequence, the presidential election of October 26 is hereby upheld as is the election of Uhuru Kenyatta.”
President Kenyatta will be sworn in on the first Tuesday following seven days of the court’s decision – November 28 – according to Article 141(2) (b) of the Constitution.
