Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday rejected the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta and vowed to hold his own swearing-in as president in two weeks time.
"I will be sworn in because I am the legitimate president. We are going to be sworn in on December 12," he said, comparing the ceremony to that of Zimbabwe's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was sworn in after Robert Mugabe was forced out.
Mr Kenyatta was sworn in for a second five-year term in front of a rapturous crowd at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi as riot police fired tear gas at crowds who tried to hold a rally in support of the opposition. Police sealed off the area with tyres and boulders.
Mr Kenyatta won a repeat presidential election on October 26 that was boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair.
The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election in August over irregularities.
The extended election season has divided Kenya and hampered growth in East Africa's richest economy.
Mr Odinga's supporters, many drawn from poorer parts of the country, feel locked out of power and the patronage it brings.
Political arguments often have ethnic undercurrents, with his supporters pointing out that three of the country's four presidents have come from one ethnic group, although the country has 44 recognised groups.
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Read more:
Kenya supreme court upholds Kenyatta's win in repeat election
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But such arguments seemed far from the happy crowds at the celebration, who cheered wildly as Mr Kenyatta was sworn into office and as he received a 21-gun salute.
"I … do swear … that I will always truly and diligently serve the people of the Republic of Kenya," he said, his hand resting on a Bible.
Before he arrived, a military band in gold and blue uniforms serenaded heads of state from Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Zambia and other nations as they arrived at the Kasarani stadium, the venue for the ceremony.
More than 60,000 Kenyatta supporters, many clad in the red and yellow Jubilee party colours and carrying Kenyan flags, filled the stadium benches. Thousands of others waited outside. Frustrated at not being allowed in, some overwhelmed the police and streamed in. The police retaliated by firing tear gas at them.
Supporters of Mr Kenyatta — who won with 98 per cent of the vote after Mr Odinga's boycott — want the opposition to engage in talks and move on.
"I’m sure Uhuru will be able to bring people together and unite them so we can all work for the country," said Eunice Jerobon, a trader who travelled overnight from the Rift Valley town of Kapsabet for the inauguration, before the disturbance.
But Odinga supporters say such talk of unity is tantamount to surrender. They accuse the ruling party of stealing the election, rampant corruption, directing abuse by the security forces and neglecting vast swathes of the country, including Mr Odinga's heartland in the west.
"A return to the political backwardness of our past is more than unacceptable. It is intolerable … This divide cannot be bridged by dialogue and compromise," Mr Odinga's National Super Alliance opposition grouping said.
The opposition planned to hold a prayer meeting in the capital on Tuesday, saying it wanted to commemorate the lives of Odinga supporters killed during confrontations with the security forces over the election period.
More than 70 people have been killed in political violence this election season, mostly by the police. Such killings are rarely investigated.
Eye witnesses at the scene of the planned rally said the area had been sealed off by seven truck loads of police in riot gear. Two water cannons were standing by and a helicopter hovered overhead.
Police began firing tear gas in nearby residential areas two hours before the rally was due to start, apparently attempting to prevent opposition supporters from gathering.
Several roads were blocked by burning tyres, rocks, glass and uprooted billboards. Police shot in the air to disperse anyone trying to gather.
But Dennis Onyango, a spokesman for Odinga, said the rally would go on regardless.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
