Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday, June 5 said he was surprised to hear the Kenya Kwanza government supporting his African Union Commission (AUC) chairman bid.
Speaking during a joint presser with Musalia Mudavadi, the former Prime Minister said he did expect President William to support his bid.
However, Raila said one cannot become an AUC chairperson without the support of the government of his country.
“The Kenyan government did not ask me to run for the African Union Commission chairmanship, I made a decision that I want to offer myself to serve the continent. You cannot run for this position without being sponsored by your country, your candidature is not valid until your country says yes. I was pleasantly surprised that the Kenyan government said that they would support me. I was expecting them to say No. I don’t know the reason they said yes,” Raila remarked.
The Azimio leader mentioned that he exchanged notes with Mudavadi on the status of his AU bid so far.
Mudavadi on his part explained that Raila is a comment leader who will champion Africa’s interests in AU.
“We exchanged notes on preparations from my side and the government side and the next steps and the next steps required to be taken,” he said.
Mudavadi also noted that Raila’s candidature will give Kenya the chance to lead the African Union.
“Raila is competent and we are looking at Kenya’s national interests and Africa’s interests so this is not about our local issues and we really want the fourth estate to help us to protect the national interests of Kenya because it will be a first for Kenya and will be an opportunity for Kenya to offer leadership to the African Union and Raila has the requisite experience,” Mudavadi stated.
The AUC elections are set to be held in February 2025. If Raila emerges successful he will replace Moussa Faki who has led the AUC for two terms.
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