The campaigns for Raila Odinga’s quest for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC) are firmly on course, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said.
Mudavadi said after the official launch of Raila’s AUC candidature next Tuesday, an exercise that will be overseen by President William Ruto, it will be all systems go and nothing will be left to chance to ensure Kenya clinches the seat.
“The President will not be announcing only to the Kenyan people but also significantly to the continent and the international community at large that the official candidate for Kenya in the AUC race is non other than Raila Amolo Odinga.” Said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi, who is also the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, noted that the campaigns will be led by highly experienced and knowledgeable individuals to ensure a well-coordinated, targeted and result oriented output.
Mudavadi said after Kenya successfully handed in Raila’s papers and credentials beating the 6th August 2024 deadline, structured planning has been going on ahead of the official launch.
In his previous remarks Mudavadi has echoed that Raila represents the nation’s voice, values and aspirations on the continent.
He has urged Kenyans to stand with Raila’s candidature not just as a government, but as a united people.
Mudavadi spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD-9) Ministerial Meeting that came to a close Sunday.
While in Tokyo, PCS seized the opportunity to rally several Foreign Affairs Ministers from the African Union member states in attendance at the conference to support Kenya’s bid.
“There are over 25 Ministers for Foreign Affairs representing their countries in this conference and we have spent a lot of time talking and persuading them as we target to harness more support and lobby aggressively for the Kenyan candidate.” said Mudavadi.
“Now we cannot afford to lose time as this election takes place in February 2025. Africa is huge and even before the official launch the President has been leading a lot of campaigns, approaching many of his colleagues in the continent, and now we must do the follow-up and jointly with the candidate consolidate ground.” said Mudavadi.
Among others, Mudavadi met Foreign Ministers from Senegal, Liberia, Mauritania and Egypt where he presented the Kenyan case for consideration.
The Foreign and Diaspora Affairs cabinet secretary noted that focus would be on gaining more support and no ceding ground at any given point.
He had earlier stated that the campqign secretariat will be responsible for drafting all necessary briefs for the candidate, producing campaign materials, and arranging for a public debate to be broadcast live across Africa.
“Because largely these campaigns will call for foreign engagement, we will have to go full blast as soon as the official launch on Tuesday and naturally the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which I head will be very pivotal in undertaking this exercise.” said Mudavadi in Tokyo.
Newly appointed Kenyan ambassador to Tokyo Moi Lemoshira who accompanied the Prime Minister in various meetings with the African Union member states Foreign Affairs ministers said Kenya is getting into this race with a visionary projection owing to Raila’s track record and experience.
“We need to appreciate that we have a very strong candidate in Hon. Raila Odinga. He is an experienced leader who has served in various high-level positions in Kenya and Africa especially when he was the AU envoy for infrastructure, a very relevant position in the future of AUC leadership.” said Lemoshira.
“Raila’s credentials also position him as a big consensus builder. It is important to reflect on the past experiences of elections of such a position and we should have confidence in our candidate. It is my believe that a good number of the African Union member states will be able to rally support behind Raila Odinga.” he added.
The AUC chairperson’s seat is set to fall vacant in February 2025 when its current occupant, Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, finishes his second term.
The former Prime Minister is facing off with Djibouti’s Mohamoud Youssouf, Anil Gayan (Mauritius) and Richard Randriamandrato (Madagascar) for the African Union Commission chairmanship.
