President William Ruto’s government will on Monday formally submit opposition leader Raila Odinga’s application for African Union Commission (AUC), Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei has told Nation.Africa.
Mr Sing’oei said all the paperwork is ready for submission ahead of the August 6 deadline. He said the government will share details of the road map to the continental job on Monday.
“We are making a formal application on Monday. We are done with all the paperwork and ready to submit them,” said the PS.
He had earlier shared photos of Mr Odinga signing some of the documents. Mr Odinga was in the company of the PS and Professor Makau Mutua.
"Candidature of the Rt. Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga for the position of the chairperson of the African Union Commission February 2025," reads the title of the document.
In June while addressing a joint press briefing at his Railways headquarters offices, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said the government was firming up preparatory and application documents together with requisite translations of the resume into six AU languages (French, English, Kiswahili, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish) for submission to the AU Secretariat by the end of the month.
Mr Mudavadi, who is also the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs CS, said the government was also working on a secretariat to spearhead the ODM leader’s campaigns.
“Overall, the campaigns are led by the State with highly experienced and knowledgeable officers. The State Department for Foreign Affairs has established a campaign Secretariat which includes the candidate’s strategy team,” Mr Mudavadi said.
The Secretariat, he noted, will prepare all the briefs for use by the candidate, develop campaign materials including digital presence, and prepare for the public debate to be broadcast to African citizens.
He said that an empirical campaign strategy has been developed which includes identifying opportunities, challenges, and risks that Kenya’s candidature faces.
“Additionally, the campaign involves outreach programmes to Capitals of AU member states, briefing of Kenya Missions abroad, and engagements with Diplomatic Corps in Nairobi.
“Kenya is certain that our candidate, Rt Hon Raila Odinga, has the credentials and the passion to advocate for Africa’s interests globally, and champion for more opportunities for Africa and her people.
