The government of Kenya has created a campaign secretariat to work with ODM leader Raila Odinga in his bid to contest for the African Union Commission chairman position.
Prime cabinet secretary and foreign affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi on Wednesday said that the decision was made following consultations with Odinga as well as the need to put up a strong campaign for the Azimio leader.
Speaking during a joint press conference with Odinga at the ministry of foreign affairs headquarters in Nairobi, Mudavadi said that the government will fully support Odinga’s candidate and will offer all the support needed.
Mudavadi added that Odinga’s candidacy campaigns will now be led by the state and the created secretariat will work closely with the Orange party leader’s consultation team.
“We have no doubt that the candidate will pursue excellence in line with the continent’s collective aspirations of the Africa we want in 2063 as framed in the AUC development framework,” Mudavadi said.
“The secretariat will prepare all the briefs for use by the candidate, develop campaign materials including digital presence, and prepare for the public debate to be broadcast live for African citizens,” he added.
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The PSC argued that the submission preparations for Odinga’s candidature will be made by the end of June ahead of the deadline for regional submissions set for August 6, 2024.
“The team is firming up preparatory and application documents together with requisite translations of the resume into 6 languages of Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, French, English, and Kiswahili,” Mudavadi said.
Odinga on the other hand, welcomed the government’s decision to assist his bid, adding that he is willing to work closely with the newly formed team to achieve his quest for the AU plum job.
“With committed and proper coordination between my team and the government, we should be able to clinch the seat. We agreed that synergy is going to be critical as we embark on the next steps that include the submission of my application,” said Odinga.
The Azimio leader added that he has received heartwarming affirmations from senior government officials willing to join his journey to the AUC chairperson seat.
“On my own, I am making all efforts to tap into my experience, relationships and understanding of the continent to win the support of as many nations as I can,” Odinga said.
Odinga has so far received the endorsement of about nine heads of state in Africa, including Presidents Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (Ghana), Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbambwe among others.
A unanimous decision by the African Union Executive Council on March 15, 2024, agreed to reserve the AUC position to the East African region.
Odinga will contest the seat alongside Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Youssouf and Somalia’s former deputy prime minister and current member of the Federal Parliament Fawzia Yusuf.
The seat is set to fall vacant next year as its current occupant, Chad’s Moussa Faki, is set to finish his second term.
Faki was first appointed in 2017 and won a second term in 2021. If Odinga clinches the job he will serve from 2025 to 2028.
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