President William Ruto on Tuesday hosted leaders of the East African Community (EAC) for a highly-anticipated announcement ceremony for Kenya’s Raila Odinga’s candidacy for the post of Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC).
The foreign ministry confirmed on Saturday that all EAC member state leaders had been invited to the ceremony marking the official launch of Odinga’s campaign ahead of the February 2025 elections.
The EAC has eight member states: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of South Sudan.
Kenya has fielded Odinga to replace outgoing Speaker Mousa Faki Mahamat, but this is not just a national issue but an EAC-wide one, as Somalia’s former foreign minister Fauzia Yusuf withdrew from the election and subsequently endorsed the former prime minister.
“Leaders of EAC member states are invited to attend the candidate announcement ceremony at the Presidential Villa in Nairobi on Tuesday, August 27,” Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Dr Koril Sinonei, told The Sunday Nation.
Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi said President Ruto will present a formal roadmap for Odinga’s election campaign, a move that will energise his bid for the continent’s highest office.
“This is not just a candidacy, it is a national mission. Raila Odinga represents the voice, values and aspirations of Kenya on the African continent. Let us stand with him, not just as a government but as a people, as he moves forward,” Mudavadi said.
Dr Ruto will appoint a team of government strategists to work alongside Odinga’s team in a joint secretariat already set up in Nairobi to intensify regional campaigns and diplomatic efforts to secure Odinga’s AUC post.
Odinga has already appointed a team of experienced diplomats including former Secretary-General of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Mahboob Maalim, former Kenyan Ambassador to the United States Elkana Odembo, Ambassador Anthony Okara, Professor Makau Mutua and former Nyeri Deputy Governor Dr Caroline Karugu.
Odembo told the Sunday Nation yesterday that Tuesday’s launch would intensify the local campaign.
“It will give the campaign the much needed name recognition and momentum. It will reaffirm Kenya’s commitment and seriousness to have Raila Amolo Odinga and Kenya as the top leader of the AUC.”
“This will show that all systems are in order,” Odembo said.
The former envoy said President Ruto would reiterate on Tuesday that Odinga’s “exceptional qualifications and experience make him undoubtedly the best candidate for the AUC job”.
“He will do so in the presence of his colleagues whom he has invited to the event, including the diplomatic corps in Nairobi,” Odembo said.
Odinga is facing off against Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf, former Mauritius foreign minister Anil Kumarsinh Gayan and former Madagascar foreign minister Richard James Landriamandlat.
Djibouti, Mauritius and Madagascar are all French-speaking countries, which Kenya hopes to use to boost its bid.
Mauritius and Madagascar are part of the Southern African Development Community region.
“Our strategy is to ensure that Kenya not only has the full support of the East African Community but also that the EAC is determined to make this a regional campaign,” Odembo added.
But in what was expected to be a one-on-one race between the two countries, Djibouti has proven to be Kenya’s nightmare.
Odinga’s team said they were “fully aware of Djibouti’s challenge” in the contest.
“Djibouti is a strategically located country in the Horn of Africa and there is global competition for Djibouti. As a port country, Djibouti is home to around eight overseas military bases, including those of the United States and France.
“These foreign interests are causing a decline in security in the Horn of Africa. We are fully aware of this and have taken it into account in our election campaign,” said a strategist for Odinga’s campaign.
He said his team would continue its visits to Kigali, Brazzaville and Kinshasa, which Odinga recently visited.
“Our recent visit is not a one-off visit, the campaign will continue to engage with these capital cities to not only gain their support but also campaign for Kenya, Raila Odinga and the EAC in their areas of interest.”
Djibouti and Kenya are members of IGAD; other members are Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Eritrea.
However, Sudan is currently suspended from participating in African Union activities and was ineligible to vote following the October 2021 coup.
Djibouti ran for a seat on the UN Security Council and challenged Kenya in international elections after the AU approved Kenya’s non-permanent seat.
Djibouti is expected to lose in the second round after Kenya secured more than the two-thirds majority needed to secure a seat for the 2021-22 term. Kenya is not taking any risks, but Nairobi is hoping to beat Djibouti again in next year’s AUC contest.
Odinga later announced he was leaving Kenya to pursue a continental African post and hinted at a possible retirement from local politics.
He said he would no longer be as active in Kenyan politics as he wanted to focus on election campaigns on the continent.
However, it is unclear whether he will give up his position as party leader.
Odinga is the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya coalition.
Speaking at his second joint press conference with Mudavadi at the PCS railway offices in Nairobi on Wednesday, Odinga said all was going smoothly in his election campaign after he formally filed his candidacy.
“I intend to start working on the African continent as soon as I am elected, which will be in February next year.”
“At the moment I am part of the campaign but that does not mean Kenya will cease to exist,” Odinga said.
He further said: “I will not be too active in Kenyan politics going forward as I will continue to focus on the continental election campaign. However, this is a transitional period as I move from active participation in Kenyan politics to continental African politics.”
Mudavadi called on Kenyans to support the former prime minister.
“Fellow Kenyans, we have always stood united as a people in our own side, whether on the athletics field, in the stadium or on the world stage. Just as we cheered on the athletes at the recent Olympic Games, let us give our all in cheering for Senator Raila as he holds high the Kenyan flag in the race for the position of Chairman of the African Union Commission.”
Odinga said he was pleased that the Kenyan government had formally recognised his candidacy.
“We have already submitted our application to the Secretariat as per the AU’s requirements and from now everything will be smooth sailing.
“I want to thank the leaders of the African continent and the people of my country, Kenya, for their expression of confidence. I need your support in this campaign,” he said.
He noted that the African Union needed to be strengthened to realise the dreams of the continent’s founding fathers who envisioned a united, peaceful and prosperous Africa.
Odinga said if elected in February next year he would pay close attention to the challenges plaguing the continent.
Mudavadi said he would not give figures on the state’s budget for the AUC campaign but acknowledged the financial obligations for the operation.
Kenya spent Sh437.7 million on the campaign led by then Deputy President and now Head of State William Ruto in a previous failed attempt to win the AUC chairmanship.
Data presented to Parliament showed that Sh437,776,982 was spent on the election campaign, Sh52,095,299 more than the set secret expenditure amount.
The ministry had allocated Sh385,681,683 in the year to June 2017 for expenditure related to the campaign for the candidacy of then foreign affairs minister Amina Mohammed for the post.
“However, the AUC’s campaign expenditure as set out in the original work schedule was Sh437,776,982, a difference of Sh52,095,299 from the certified amount,” then Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Macharia Kamau told parliament.
“The difference relates to AUC election campaign activities conducted by the Vice President and was initially claimed as AUC election campaign funds but was later transferred to state visit expenses,” he added.
Mohamed ran for the continent’s top diplomat position but lost in the polls to Chad’s Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat.
Odinga is due to preside over the opening ceremony of the fifth annual World Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture (commonly known as Festac) in Kisumu tomorrow (Monday) before returning to Nairobi to make his official announcement as the AUC candidate.
He will be inviting other key African leaders to the gala, including Festac patron, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, Speaker Yinka Abioye and former First Lady of Mozambique and South Africa, Graca Machel.
Festak, Africa’s oldest post-independence festival, was conceived by Pan-African pioneers Kwame Nkrumah and Leopold Senghor and celebrates the continent’s cultural richness and diversity through music, visual arts, dance, fashion and sport.
