The Latest: Rioters in Kisumu protest Kenya election results

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Latest on Kenya’s elections (all times local):

12:35 p.m.

A witness says hundreds of protesters are rioting in Kisumu, a city in southwestern Kenya that is a stronghold of opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Kenyan journalist Fred Ooko says people from the Kondele slum in Kisumu burned tires and blocked roads on Wednesday. Kisumu, a port city on Lake Victoria, is one of Kenya’s largest urban centers.

Authorities have been concerned about possible violence following elections on Tuesday. Opposition leader Raila Odinga has alleged fraud following the release of results showing him trailing President Uhuru Kenyatta by a wide margin.

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12:25 p.m.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga says hackers used the identity of a murdered electoral official to gain entry to the election commission’s database in order to manipulate voting results.

Odinga was referring to Christopher Msando, an election official in charge of managing information technology systems who had sought to reassure voters that the results of Tuesday’s elections would not be exposed to tampering.

But on July 31 officials announced that Msando had been tortured and killed.

Odinga made the allegation about Msando’s identity at a news conference Wednesday at which he said the elections were a fraud. Results released by the election commission have shown Odinga trailing President Uhuru Kenyatta by a wide margin.

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12 p.m.

Kenyan police say officers opened fire on people protesting election results in an opposition stronghold in southwestern Kenya, killing 1 person.

Leonard Katana, a regional police commander, said the shooting happened Wednesday when protesters clashed with security forces in South Mugirango constituency in Kisii County.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has alleged fraud in the country’s general election, saying hackers infiltrated the database of the country’s election commission and manipulated the results. His comments followed the release of results from Tuesday’s election showing President Uhuru Kenyatta with a wide lead over Odinga after votes from the vast majority of polling stations had been counted.

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11:30 a.m.

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday alleged fraud in the country’s general election, saying hackers infiltrated the database of the country’s election commission and manipulated the results in what he called an “attack on our democracy.”

Odinga’s allegations followed the release of election results showing President Uhuru Kenyatta with a wide lead over the opposition leader after votes from the vast majority of polling stations had been counted.

“Hackers gained entry into our election database” and “created errors,” Odinga said at a news conference.

“You can only cheat the people for so long,” the opposition leader said. “The 2017 general election was a fraud.”

A top official in Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party said the opposition’s criticism of the electoral process was unfounded.

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AP journalist Christopher Torchia in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.

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