Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has launched his campaign for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC) in critical West Africa, amid reports that his bid is facing hiccups in the East African Community (EAC), which initially endorsed his candidacy as a bloc.
Mr Odinga arrived in Cotonou, Benin, where he held talks on Thursday with the West African nation's foreign minister, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari.
“I shared my vision on agriculture, infrastructure and technology to unite and amplify the voice of Africa if elected as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC),” Mr Odinga said.
This comes as it emerged that Somalia, one of the eight EAC member states that endorsed his candidacy during his official campaign launch at State House in Nairobi on August 27, will vote for his rival, Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf, in the February 2025 elections.
Mr Odinga is pitted against Mr Youssouf, former Mauritian Foreign Minister Anil Kumarsingh Gayan and his former Madagascan counterpart Richard James Randriamandrato in the upcoming election to replace incumbent Moussa Faki Mahamat.
The EAC has eight member states, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, South Sudan and Somalia.
EAC Chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit (President of South Sudan) led the regional presidents in endorsing Mr Odinga for the top continental post in Nairobi in August.
President Kiir and his EAC counterparts Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (Uganda) and Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Burundi Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca and Rwanda's Foreign Affairs Minister James Kabarebe, who was representing President Paul Kagame, all unequivocally declared their countries' support for Mr Odinga.
Former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete and his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo were also present, among other dignitaries.
Speaking at the event, President Ruto, who also conveyed the apologies of the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, underscored the region's shared commitment to solidarity and integration in East Africa.
“Our Eastern Africa region, which is home to more than 500 million people, rightly considers this moment to be its turn to offer leadership on the basis of the principle of inter-regional rotation,” President Ruto said.
“I am encouraged by the fact that more than ever, our region's leadership is alive to the complexity and dynamism of the challenges which form the regional and broader international context of our Pan-African moment.”
Although Dr Ruto conveyed the Somali president's apologies during Mr Odinga's campaign launch, the Somali government has now confirmed that it had "prior commitment with Djibouti" on the AUC position.
Kenya's Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei had told the Nation that during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September, he hosted Principal and Permanent Secretaries from EAC countries who resolved to support Kenya's campaigns.\
“We invited them to constitute themselves as a committee of candidatures under the EAC framework because that committee exists and we invited them to take a decision on the candidature of Hon Odinga and to resolve to support his candidature and campaigns.
“All the countries present supported it except for Somalia which supported the consensus but indicated that they had made a prior commitment to Djibouti before Hon Odinga declared his candidature,” Dr Sing’oei said.
He noted that Mr Odinga’s candidacy came much later, by which time the Djiboutian candidate had already declared his bid.
“So, Somalia submitted to the committee that they were constrained by that commitment but that they supported fully the consensus of the region to support Hon Odinga’s candidature.
“That for us is a very important development and we are escalating the report to the committee of the council of ministers for further advice and adoption,” added the PS.
Somalia's move is a blow to Mr Odinga, who had secured the support of the country's former foreign minister, Fawzia Yusuf, who withdrew from the race in early August to back his bid.
“I am delighted to announce my support for the Right Honourable Raila Odinga in his bid for Chair of the African Union Commission. I extend my heartfelt wishes for his success in this important endeavour. Additionally, I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to all the governments and individuals who supported my candidacy earlier,” Ms Fawzia said after meeting Mr Odinga on August 9.
Dr Sing’oei says Kenya is now preparing for the ‘Mjadala Africa debate,’ where the candidates will have the opportunity to share their vision for Africa.
Mr Odinga formally launched his candidacy for the top job at the African Union on November 8, presenting himself as the leader the continent needs to unlock its full potential.
Speaking at the event in Addis Ababa, he stressed the importance of a united Africa, arguing that disunity has hindered the continent's progress and potential.
“We must return unity to the top of our priorities. Without unity in a fast-consolidating and changing world, Africa will continue to be marginalised, exploited and irrelevant,” he warned.
Africa is huge, he said, and its infrastructure on the ground, in terms of roads, highways and railways, is not yet fully developed.
But when it comes to the skies, which are free, each country has its own traffic control, which he said is a barrier to development because it makes air travel in Africa expensive compared to Europe.
Youth, Mr Odinga said, was Africa's greatest asset, with 70 percent of its population under the age of 35.
“This can be an asset, but it can also be a challenge. Because the youth, if they are not empowered, they become a drag on the economy,” he said, adding that if they are empowered, they can become the greatest resource.
“But we first need to give the youth the requisite tools that they require to create wealth for our continent,” he said.
