The 55-year-old had made Kenya's class divisions the centrepiece of his campaign to become the nation's fifth president, promising to reward low-income 'hustlers.'
Kenya's elections chief declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of a tight presidential race on Monday but some senior election officials disowned the result, fuelling fears of widespread violence like that seen after previous disputed polls.
Once in office, Mr Ruto will have to confront an economic and social crisis in East Africa's most advanced economy, where poor Kenyans already reeling from the impact of COVID-19 have been hit by global rises in food and fuel prices. Minutes before the chairman of the electoral commission Wafula Chebukati announced that Mr Ruto had won, his deputy Juliana Cherera had told media at a separate location that she and three other commissioners disowned the results.
Diplomats and international observers were whisked out of the tallying hall before Mr Chebukati spoke, as scuffles broke out. The United Nations took note of the results, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, and encouraged all candidates to "resort to legal channels to address any challenges that may arise."
Saitabao Kanchory, national chief agent for Odinga's Azimio La Umoja Alliance told reporters outside the tallying centre that it would continue to "hold Wafula Chebukati ... to account to the people of Kenya to deliver a free fair credible election."Several plumes of black smoke rose in the streets of Kibera, mirroring similar scenes in Kisumu, to the west of the country, as people burned piles of tires. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.