ODM leader Raila Odinga will today formally begin his journey towards Africa’s politics with the unveiling of his candidature and manifesto for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.
Odinga, who arrived at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on Thursday, said that he intends to formally and officially present his vision and mission for the AUC to the Permanent Representatives Committee of the AU as part of his ongoing campaigns for the seat.
The unveiling of the vision and mission statement by Odinga, comes ahead of the elections to choose the next chairman of the African Union Commission chairman in February next year.
Odinga is expected to launch the bid with the help of Prime cabinet secretary and foreign affairs cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi alongside Odinga’s secretariat led by Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei and former Kenya Ambassador to the United States Elkanah Odembo.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Mudavadi said that the Friday engagement will see Kenya unveil Odinga’s pan-African vision and strategic priorities for the African Union Commission.
Mudavadi said that throughout the engagement Odinga and his team will preside over a reception hosted by Kenya to mobilize support for his candidature for the AUC chairman position to all heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the African Union.
“This engagement with the Permanent Representatives Committee of the AU is a follow up to the official launch by President William Ruto of the former Prime Minister’s candidature in Nairobi on August 27 this year,” Mudavadi said.
He added that the event is organized by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs under the leadership of Dr Sing’oei, together with Odinga’s Secretariat, chaired by Ambassador Odembo.
“Odinga will use the platform to engage with AU’s other stakeholders and partners on his plan of action for Africa’s transformation,” Mudavadi said.
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In a statement released earlier, Odinga’s secretariat said that the ODM leader will use the forum to outline his Pan-African vision and priorities in line with AU Agenda 2063.
“The candidate will crown the activities with a keynote address at the Grand Campaign Reception to be held at the AU Multipurpose Hall on the evening of November 8, 2024,” the secretariat said.
The unveiling of Odinga’s vision comes just days after the ODM leader received another boost to his quest to chair the AUC, after Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema announced his support for the candidacy of the opposition chief.
President Hichilema made the announcement after a bilateral meeting with President William Ruto at the COMESA summit in Bujumbura, Burundi in October.
The decision to support Odinga, was made after Ruto and President Hichilema reached a reciprocal agreement with Kenya pledging to endorse Zambia’s nominee, Dr Samuel Maimbo, for the presidency of the African Development Bank.
Dr Maimbo, Zambia’s candidate, is aiming to succeed Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina in the role.
“We have committed to support former Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, for the position of African Union Commission Chairperson,” President Hichilema said on his social media account.
Aside from President Hichilema, Mr Odinga has also received the backing of presidents Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Samia Suluhu of Tanzania, Salva Kiir (South Sudan) as well as Burundi’s prime minister Gervais Ndirakobuca.
Former Somalia foreign affairs minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam who withdrew from the race, has also thrown her weight behind Odinga, further solidifying the opposition leader’s position as one of the leading contenders for the seat.
The Azimio leader Odinga, is set to contest for the seat alongside other candidates including Djibouti’s foreign affairs minister Mahmoud Youssouf, Anil Gayan of Mauritius and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato.
Odinga is the second Kenyan to contest for the AUC chairman position after former cabinet secretary Amina Mohamed who lost the seat to outgoing commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat in 2017.
According to a resolution passed and endorsed by the AU Executive Council in March, the AUC chairman position is set to go to a candidate from the East Africa region.
This means that the next election, slated for February 2025, will be a contest between Odinga and the three other candidates, in a race whose outcome will be influenced by many factors, among them regional interests between the AU member states.
The African Union is classified into five regions – Southern, Central, Eastern, Western and Northern Africa. The Central, Southern and Western regions have all produced representatives to the commission since 2002.
Some of the past leaders of the commission include Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma of South Africa, Jean Ping of Gabon, Alpha Oumar Konaré of Mali and Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire who held the position of AUC chairman on an interim basis during the transition from OAU to AU between 2002 and 2003.
The current and outgoing AUC chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat is from Chad and has held the position since his election in 2017. Therefore, the February 2025 election will be contested between the four candidates from the East African region, among them Odinga.
The AU is currently made up of 55-member states divided between the French-speaking Francophone states and the English-speaking Anglophones all which represent the countries on the African continent.
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