Government submits Raila’s AUC chairmanship bid

By Peter Ochieng

President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration has formally submitted Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.

The bid was submitted by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs officials on Monday, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Korir Sing’Oei, Principal Secretary (PS) in the ministry presented Odinga’s credentials to the continent’s Eastern Region Dean Dharmraj Busgeeth, accompanied by Raila’s strategists.

“Under the authority of the government of Kenya and as per the Statutes and Rules of the African Union Commission, we have today formally submitted requisite documentation of Kenya's nominee for the Chairmanship of @_AfricanUnion, H.E. Raila Amolo Odinga, to the Dean of Eastern Region, H.E. Dharmraj Busgeeth, Ambassador of Mauritius. I was accompanied by Ambassador George Orina @KenyaEmbAddis, Prof. Makau Mutua and Amb Elkanah Odembo,” the PS wrote on X.

The current AUC chair Moussa Faki Mahamat is nearing the end of his second and last term in office, with elections for his successor set for February, 2025.

Over the weekend, Nairobi Review reported that with the coin being tossed in favour of the East Africa region to produce the next AUC chairman, Kenya is fronting Odinga’s candidature. Submission of the bid comes days after Odinga spoke of a possibility to drop his AUC bid, ‘for the sake of the country.’

"I am ready to forgo my AUC ambitions for the sake of my country if this is being used to manipulate me at the expense of the quest for a better and stable country," said the ODM party leader.

He spoke at the height of youth-led protests against President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza regime, after Kenyans told him off for supporting dialogue with the government of the day.

Narc Kenya leader Maratha Karua supported Odinga, urging him to drop out of the AUC race if he was being arm-twisted by politicians in both the government and opposition circles.

"To his credit, he has said he is even ready to forfeit his candidature at AUC which means he has now freed himself from being arm-twisted. He has said nothing is more important than the great country, he said he doesn't want to go to AU...this now brings the opposition together," said Karua.

Several African Heads of State and Governments have declared support for Odinga’s AUC chairmanship bid. They include Uganda’s Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, Rwanda’s Paul Kamage and South Sudan’s Salvar Kiir.

The AU will apply the principle of inter-regional rotation in the election slated for February 2025, giving a chance to fourteen States in the Eastern bloc to produce the Commission Chairperson.

The Northern bloc will produce a Deputy Chairperson while Central, Southern, and Western regions will submit at least two candidates (one female and one male) for the six Commissioner portfolios.