Declaring that Kenya had taken the assignment seriously, President William Ruto said in Mr Odinga , the country has entrusted its “most capable steward,” for the job.
EAC Chairman Salva Kiir, who is also the president of South Sudan, led the regional presidents in endorsing Mr Odinga for the top continental post.
President Kiir, his EAC colleagues Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (Uganda), Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania), Burundi Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca, Rwanda President Paul Kagame’s representative – Foreign Affairs Minister James Kabarebe - declared their support for Mr Odinga.
Also in attendance were former Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete and his Nigeria counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo, among other dignitaries.
Speaking at the event, President Ruto who also conveyed apologies for Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud underscored the region’s shared commitment to solidarity and integration in Eastern Africa.
He said it was important to mobilise effective collective action for the benefit of the citizens of the regional countries and the entire African continent.
“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.
“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,” President Ruto said.
Styling Mr Odinga as a visionary Pan-African leader, the Head of State described the former Prime Minister, his political nemesis-turned-friend as “a bold and wise leader, a professional and technocrat as well as a towering statesman and veteran mobiliser for positive change.”
Ruto launches Raila AUC chair bid at State House
“I am confident that he will give his utmost and do all it takes to make Africa proud and powerful,” said Dr Ruto.
At the ceremony, the President also unveiled a campaign secretariat, which will be led by Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei and former Ambassador to the United States Elkana Odembo, and launched Mr Odinga’s campaign website.
“It will also include a diverse membership drawn from the five regions of the African Union,” he said.
Dr Ruto described Mr Odinga as a celebrated statesman whose longevity in leadership has been sustained by an unrelenting devotion to democratic change as the foundation of sustainable freedom and prosperity.
President William Ruto congratulates former Prime Minister Raila Odinga on the launch of his bid for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
“Kenya has benefited from progress, both on the broad stage of national governance as well as the evolution of specific sectors that are attributable to reforms championed by the patriotic league of indomitable visionaries like Hon Odinga. He possesses the professional capacity and experience, a proven track record of transformative leadership and wide experience of accomplishment at the national and regional levels.”
Mr Odinga pledged to push for scrapping of visa for intra-Africa travel and removal of trade barriers as he spelled out his vision of a united continent characterised by peace and prosperity for all.
“As a lifelong Pan-Africanist, I will offer participatory leadership to ensure delivery on the priorities of the African people as envisioned in the African Union Agenda 2063," he said.
“This is Africa's century… We must harness our vast human and natural resources, and integrate the energy of our youth with the vision and wisdom of our leaders.”
He added: "Kindly buy my vision, the charge is 34 plus votes in the first round. I particularly appeal to fellow East Africans, that we walk this journey together and go to Addis as a team in February 2025."
Kenya’s Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, an arch-rival of Mr Odinga on Kenya’s political scene, described the launch as a "great moment for our country."
DP Gachagua endorses Raila as 'Kenya's finest'
"We are here to unveil Kenya's finest to go and lead Africa. The people of Kenya have been united behind Raila to be AUC chair and Africa, our motherland deserves the best," he said.
President Suluhu lauded Mr Odinga, saying "he is not only a wise statesman but one who can make a strong case for Africa.
"With Raila Odinga we envision an ever strong and growing Africa and the Republic of Tanzania assures Kenya of its for support. Tanzania says Baba anatosha achaguliwe."
President Kiir said his presence in the country was to confirm South Sudan's endorsement of Mr Odinga.
"As chairman of EAC I strongly appeal to the region to rally behind Raila as the region's candidate.
"Let us talk to our friends across the continent to enable Raila be the next chairman of African Union Commission," President Kiir said.
Uganda's Museveni described Mr Odinga as a Pan-Africanist who is not just a job seeker but qualified for the job.
"He is the one to lead us in that big battle for prosperity and is the candidate who is fit for this job," President Museveni said.
He said he was glad that President Ruto, DP Gachagua and other Kenyan leaders have united for the sake of Mr Odinga's candidacy.
Mr Odinga who will now focus on his continental campaigns said his plan is to make AU more people-centered and serve the interests of the vast voiceless majority of Africans.
“The African people should feel the AU in their lives,” he declared.
If elected, Mr Odinga proposed to utilize the transition period to critically analyze the existing proposals for reforms and building capacity of the AU Commission.
The ultimate aim, he noted, is to follow up on the implementation of the formulated reports.
The former Prime Minister noted that his candidacy is not about one man’s ambition, but an African’s journey to serve the motherland.
“Indeed, I plan to constitute my “Cabinet of the Chairperson” with a continental outlook. I am grateful that friends and eminent persons across Africa have volunteered to engage in my campaigns, from West, North, South, Central, and of course Eastern Africa.”
“I am ready to serve, my heart is ready, my hands are steady and with your support, I shall get the opportunity to be of service to Africa, the cradle of mankind. I am made in Eastern Africa for Africa.”
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said Mr Odinga embodies the ideals of a people-centered, visionary leadership that the African Union Commission needs.
“He is a leader who has tirelessly championed the cause of African unity and progress, unwaveringly espousing the principle of Think Africa above all.”
“His commitment to the ideals of Agenda 2063, “The Africa We Want”, is resolute, and his vision for an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful continent is one we fully support,” the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary said.
Quoting a French philosopher Voltaire: "No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking,” Mr Mudavadi said he has no doubt that embodies Mr Odinga’s approach to leadership.
“His intellect, his dedication to African integration, and his focus on unity and development are precisely what the African Union needs. As a long-standing Pan-Africanist, he has always espoused the idea that Africa must come first and that our continent’s future lies in our ability to unite and act collectively.”
Mr Odinga’s candidacy, he noted, is not just a national mission but a continental one.
“Raila Odinga is not just Kenya’s candidate; he is Africa’s candidate, a man who holds fast to the dreams and hopes of millions of Africans who yearn for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful continent. His candidature is rooted in the belief that Africa’s progress must be driven by its people, for its people,” Mr Mudavadi added.
He said in Mr Odinga, Kenya has presented a candidate who will give the AU visibility and a deserving place in global discourse.
