Kenyan president slams 'coup' court ruling

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says the country's Supreme Court staged a "coup" against the will of the people when it annulled last month's presidential election, which he won.

"A coup in Kenya has just been done by the four people in the Supreme Court," Kenyatta said in a live, televised speech.

"(The court is saying) 'numbers don't matter, it is processes that matter'."

The court's decision on September 1 was the first time a judicial body has cancelled the election of an African president and the ruling sent shock waves through the East African country and beyond.

The court ordered a re-run within 60 days between Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga, who had rejected the result of the August 8 vote and challenged it in court.

The re-run is tentatively set for October 17.

The court's detailed judgment given on Wednesday hinged on the failure of the election board to check electronic tallies, which are vulnerable to typos, against paper forms intended as a fail-safe backup before announcing results. Judges did not say they found evidence of rigging.

Kenyatta said he would respect the court's decision but said it subverted the will of the people.