Former US ambassador Robert Godec may be gone but his foot prints in Kenya will not be forgotten especially his efforts in securing peace during shaky election times in Kenya.
Elections are known to spike a lot of hatred and enmity towards opponents and their supporters that sometimes brings out the worst in Kenyans and blood even trickles.
However when Godec was appointed in September 2012 as the acting ambassador after Scott Gration resigned and later confirmed into the position in 2013 he faced a big nightmare following the March 4,2013 election.
ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga had picked Kalonzo Musyoka as his running mate while Uhuru Kenyatta had paired up with William Ruto.
Odinga’s team was seen as the stronger side compared to Uhuru and Ruto who were also facing crimes against humanity charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
But as fate would have it,Odinga’s team would not fare well when results began trickling in at Bomas of Kenya presidential tallying centre.
Each side had deployed the best tactics to secure a win. Various pollsters had indicated that Raila and Kalonzo were going to win with a big margin.
Its reported that Odinga’s team was going to interrupt the process. When he got wind of their plans, Godec pulled some strings to avert bloodshed in the country.
He informed them that proceeding with their plans would come with consequences.
The former US envoy further told them that they had an option of going to court if they were not pleased with the results.
Uhuru won the election after garnering 6,173,433 votes, Odinga had 5,340,546 votes.
Days later, Odinga filed a case at the Supreme Court citing massive irregularities.
Uhuru’s election as the fourth president of Kenya was upheld by the apex court.