Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga during a press briefing in Nairobi on June 5, 2024.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is expected to make his first pitch for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC) among African Heads of State and Government in Beijing, China following his formal endorsement as a candidate by the Kenyan government.
Mr Odinga accompanied President William Ruto for the 9th Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that begins on Wednesday September 4 to 6.
Mr Odinga is expected to give a key note address on infrastructure.
The former Premier served as AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa between 2018-2023.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga makes his remarks during the launch of his bid for the African Union Commission Chairmanship candidate at State House, Nairobi on August 27, 2024.
The head of Mr Odinga’s campaign secretariat Dr Korir Sing’oei, who is the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Nation that the former Prime Minister is in China as “an important infrastructure partner of Africa.”
“Candidate Odinga will meet various leaders to share his infrastructure focus within the context of belt and road initiative, a major plank of the forum for China-Africa cooperation,” the PS told Nation.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who is also attending the forum, said that while President Ruto has held bilateral talks with China’s President, Xi Jinping, focused on strengthening bilateral ties and exploring new areas of cooperation between Kenya and China, he will also meet African presidents to foster regional corporation.
“He will have bilateral meetings with Heads of State and Government (HoS/G) from various African countries to foster regional cooperation. He will use this opportunity to advance Kenya’s bid for the Chair of the African Union Commission,” Mr Mudavadi said.
Former Kenya ambassador to the United States Elkanah Odembo, who together with Dr Sing’oei are leading the campaign secretariat for Mr Odinga, said the FOCAC summit gives Mr Odinga a good opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with the African presidents on the sidelines of the conference.
“There should really be no speculation about Rao’s being in Beijing for FOCAC. Rao must now get out to seek the votes. The votes are with Presidents (and HoS/G) of AU Member States,” Mr Odembo told Nation.
Mr Odinga prides himself in strengthening the efforts of the AUC in the implementation of the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) during his five-year tenure as the AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
In his blue print for the AUC post, Mr Odinga explains his role in rallying political support from Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to advance Africa’s infrastructure connectivity and integration.
“He further mobilised support for continental projects, epitomising a commitment to effective delivery, and continent-wide consensus building,” the document states.
Mr Odembo argues that in his China tour, he will seek to drum up support among the president’s in attendance who will make a decision on the next AUC chairman during the February 2025 election in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
“He must go to where the Presidents are, “either in their respective countries or in the places where they are likely to be, such as FOCAC,” Mr Odembo told Nation on Tuesday.
Outgoing AUC chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat is among the regional Heads of State attending the FOCAC summit.
On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to strengthen political engagement and practical cooperation with Africa to promote shared development during talks with Mr Mahamat.
Several African leaders had by on Monday arrived in Chinese capital Beijing ahead of today’s forum.
They include; President Ruto, Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Colonel Assimi Goïta (Mali), Denis Sassou Ngwesso (Congo-Brazzaville), Bola Tinubu (Nigeria), Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), mahamat Idriss Deby Itno (Chad), Paul Biya (Cameroon), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti).
Others; are Dr. Julius Maada Bio (Sierra Leone), Mamady Doumbouya (Guinea), Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea), Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Wavel Ramkalawan (Seychelles) and Felix Tshisekedi (Democratic Republic of Congo).
President William Ruto (left) shakes hands with Raila Odinga during the launch of the ODM leader's bid for the African Union Commission chairmanship campaign on August 27, 2024 at State House, Nairobi.
Several others were expected to arrive by Tuesday evening.
Mr Odembo told Nation that the secretariat will go full throttle to the Francophone Nations to enhance Mr Odinga’s chances of winning the continental post.
Nation established that Kenya is heavily relying on president Ngwesso of Congo-Brazzaville to boost its protects among the Francophone nations.
President Ruto on Tuesday moved to strengthen its partnership with Congo-Brazaville.
“I held talks with President Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville in Beijing, China, where we are both attending the Forum on China and Africa Cooperation summit,” President Ruto said.
Mr Odembo said that from Wednesday September 4 when the summit kicks off, they will be able to know how many African Heads of State and Government are in attendance and make plans to ensure Mr Odinga reaches out to them to ask for their votes.
Dr Sing’oei said the government is leaving nothing to chance in its efforts to secure former Mr Odinga victory.
Following President Ruto’s unveiling of Mr Odinga as the country’s candidate in the presence of the leadership of the East African Community (EAC), the government said it will go full throttle campaigns.
EAC Chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit, who is also the president of South Sudan led the regional presidents in endorsing Mr Odinga for the top continental post.
President Mayardit, among 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 all declared in unequivocal terms their country’s support for Mr Odinga.
Mr Odinga’s campaign secretariat is already working on multi-pronged strategies to reach out to African Heads of State and Government to impress upon them to stand with Kenya in the February 2025 election.
Apart from the EAC, the secretariat is also targeting other seven Regional Economic Communities (RECs) which are groupings of African states and are the pillars of the AU to boost its campaigns.
They are; Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Economic Community of Central
The government is deploying all its ambassadors across the continent for the mission and has drawn a number of influencers to advocate for Kenya’s candidate.
It is still unclear how much the government has set aside for the campaign mission.
Mr Mudavadi has however, confirmed financial obligations for the operations.
In Kenya’s previous failed bid to capture the AUC chairmanship, it spent Sh437.7 million in the campaign that was led by then Deputy President Ruto, now the Head of State.
Data submitted to Parliament then showed that Sh437,776, 982 was spent in the campaigns, exceeding the set confidential expenditure by Sh52,095,299.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had earmarked Sh385,681,683 for expenditure linked to campaigns for the then Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed’s bid for the post in the year to June 2017.
"AUC campaign expenditure as captured in the initial working schedules, however, stood at Sh437,776,982 which differs from the certified amount by Sh52,095,299,” Mr Macharia Kamau, the then Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, told Parliament.
"This difference relates to the AUC campaigns conducted by the Deputy President and were initially charged under the AUC campaign funds, but were later transferred to State Visits expenditure," he added.
Ms Mohamed lost her bid to be the continent’s top diplomat to her Chad counterpart, Moussa Faki Mahamat, in the vote.
Mr Odinga is facing Djibouti’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmoud Youssouf, former Mauritius Foreign Minster Anil Kumarsingh Gayan and his former Madagascar counterpart Richard James Randriamandrato.
Mr Odembo disclosed that the budget for the current mission will be developed at the ministerial level.
“This is a national mission and resources will indeed be made available. We hope that the cabinet will approve a budget to enhance the campaigns,” he said.
He however, noted that being a Kenyan affair, they also expect business and private sector and corporates to also chip in to aid the campaigns.
