At least 24 people have died in post-election violence in Kenya following the official announcement that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Vice-President William Ruto had been re-elected for a second term in office.

Kenyatta was announced the victor by Kenya’s Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Friday evening with 54.% of the national vote against his main rival Raila Odinga’s 44.7%, a majority of over 1.4 million votes.

International observer groups and Kenya’s own monitoring organisation ELOG, have declared the electoral process to be fundamentally free and fair but Mr Odinga has condemned the election as being rigged, a “sham” and a “massive fraud”. The violence and subsequent deaths have all occurred in areas supportive of Mr Odinga.

The regional police have confirmed that two people were shot dead in the city of Kisumu on Lake Victoria, with further deaths in the Nairobi slum areas of Mathare and Kibera, all areas strongly supportive of Raila Odinga in the election.

NINE-YEAR-OLD BOY DIES

The police opened fire after it was alleged youths set up road blocks and burning barricades. One of the deaths was of a nine-year-old boy reportedly killed by a stray police bullet as he stood on a balcony in Mathare.

President Kenyatta has urged people to remain calm and for his opponents to set aside their differences.

“To brothers, our worthy competitors, we are not enemies”, the President said, “Elections come and go, Kenya is here to stay. There is no need for violence”.