• There was a narrow victory in the election.
• William Ruto would endeavor to unite the nation.
• He addressed the security and humanitarian problems in East Africa.

Following a narrow victory in the election, William Ruto, the president-elect of Kenya, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that he would endeavor to unite the nation while also actively addressing the security and humanitarian problems in East Africa.

Ruto said he had already contacted Raila Odinga in an exclusive appearance on Amanpour’s show on Wednesday. He also pledged to forge coalitions that will help the nation come together.

According to Ruto, whose victory was recognized by a Supreme Court decision on Monday, “the administration that I’m going to run will be an administration that is going to serve all Kenyans equally, whether they voted for us or they did not.”

Despite Kenya’s recent history of political violence, which includes the killing of almost 1,500 people in the wake of the December 2007 election, Ruto, 55, prevailed with 50.49% of the vote to Odinga’s 48.85% in last month’s election.

When asked about the orderly proceedings, Ruto responded that things have improved since 2007 and that the upcoming election will be even better.

“I believe it speaks to the core of the maturity of our nation’s democracy,” he remarked. No person wants their nation to be known for violence, including no leader.

“We can go to an election, we can decide who our leaders are and the next day we can go back to work,” he added. “That is the standard we have raised for ourselves as the people of Kenya, I am very proud of it.”

Later, Amanpour questioned whether the departing president, Uhuru Kenyatta, had kept in touch with Odinga since the election despite the fact that Ruto was his vice-president.

He stated, “Unfortunately, President Kenyatta has not felt like congratulating me. The nature of politics dictates that he might be a little disappointed or upset that I defeated his candidate.

Several world leaders have contacted Ruto, and according to him, he advised them not to anticipate “a huge shift” in Kenya’s foreign policy.

In several areas, especially in our regional peace initiatives, “I plan to boost up Kenya’s participation,” stated Ruto.

“I will be available, I will play my part, I will scale up Kenya’s standing and contribution in that space so that together we can contribute to a better, a much more peaceful neighborhood.”

Somalia, which has long-standing security troubles and is currently facing a famine, is one of these difficulties.

Ruto, who claimed to have previously collaborated with the country’s newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, said: “Somalia is a difficult nut to crack.”

In order to solve the problems in Somalia and enable Somalia to address its own security issues, Ruto said, “We are looking forward to working with him and with the international community.”

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