Opposition leader Raila Odinga has outlined his vision for Africa, should he be entrusted with the role of the next chairperson of the African Union Commission.
During his keynote address at the Oxford African Conference in the United Kingdom on Friday, May 24, 2024, Mr Odinga promised to use his expertise to champion the well-being of African communities.
“I aim to advance peace and prosperity on the continent if elected AUC chair. I have advocated for democracy and human rights in my own native Kenya. I have helped bring calm to African states that were dancing on the precipice,” he said.
Mr Odinga, who is poised to become the official candidate for the East African Community (EAC) for the position, encouraged Africans to adopt Afro-optimism, stating that the continent’s future belongs to them all.
He also pledged to push for the improvement of the continent’s infrastructure.
“My candidacy comes at a pivotal time in the continent’s multi-faceted transitions. I served as an African Union Commission Representative for Infrastructure Development. I appreciate Africa’s myriad infrastructural challenges,” he said.
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Mr Odinga was the inaugural AU high representative for infrastructure development, a position he held until February 2023.
The election of the AUC chairperson will be held in February 2025.
In early March, Mr Odinga received a boost to his candidature after the AU Permanent Representatives Committee proposed changes reserving the AUC chairperson position to the East African region.
The proposed changes, which were later endorsed and ratified by the AU executive council, also abolished a previously proposed rule that would see the seat of the commission chairperson reserved for a woman in the spirit of gender equity.
The EAC is made up of at least eight members, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Somalia, South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr Odinga has received endorsements from the majority of the heads of state within the EAC, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame who pledged his support to Odinga in March.
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