ODM leader Raila Odinga says he was pleasantly surprised that the Ruto administration decided to sponsor his candidacy to contest in the African Union Commission chairmanship. According to Odinga he had ruled out the the govt would back his candidacy over the long standing rivalry the opposition has had with the ruling regime
Defending the stand, Prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi says the govt saw that Odinga is competent for the job
After hours long meeting at Musalia Mudavadi offices in Railways, Nairobi Odinga has exonerated himself from clamor that he is a Kenya kwanza project for the AU job despite the govt unveiling a fully fledged plan to spearhead Odinga’s campaign to succeed incumbent Mussou Faki
To push for Odinga’s candidacy in the continent, the state department of foreign affairs has unveiled a litany of arrangements including formation of a secretariat that will champion the campaign .
Mudavadi also noted that Odinaga’s resume will be translated into six languages to defend odinga’s competency far and wide, head of its submission at the AU before the end of June 2024
“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.
“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.”
So far Odinga has secured endorsements from 9 heads of state among them Kenya’s William Ruto, Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda).
Other leaders, according to Odinga, include; “Mama Suluhu has said she will support me, Salva Kiir has accepted. The other day I was with Ramaphosa, and he said yes, Tshisekedi has said yes.”
Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Zimabwe counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa have also endorsed the Kenyan firebrand.