The Kenyan government has established a campaign secretariat to help political leader Raila Odinga in cementing his bid for chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC).
Speaking at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Nairobi, Cabinet Secretary (CS) Musalia Mudavadi stated that they had a consultation discussion with Mr. Odinga and his team to discuss the levels of readiness for the AU’s plum job.
While exuding confidence in Odinga’s ability to win the seat, Mudavadi stated that the government will fully back the nation’s candidate and will provide all the support needed.
“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,” he said.
To demonstrate his commitment, Mudavadi stated that Odinga’s candidacy campaigns will now be driven by the state, and the newly formed secretariat will work closely with Mr. Odinga’s consulting team.
“It 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,” said Mudavadi.
“The team is firming up preparatory and application documents together with requisite translations of the resume into 6 languages; Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, French, English, and Kiswahili.”
He stated that submission preparations will be completed by the end of June, ahead of the regional submission deadline of August 6, 20204.
Public debates will be held six months before the election.
Mr. Odinga, for his part, hailed the government’s offer and stated that he is eager to collaborate closely with the appropriate teams to help him achieve his monumental goal.
“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.
“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 added that he has received heartwarming affirmations from “senior government officials” willing to join his journey to the AUC chairperson seat.
CS Mudavadi added that deliberate efforts by President William Ruto to lobby for support from other African states have borne fruit and “so far our candidature has been positively received”.
Odinga will have to take the ring against Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Youssouf and Somalia’s former deputy prime minister and current member of the Federal Parliament Fawzia Yusuf.
If Odinga clinches the job he will serve from 2025 to 2028.
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.
