NAIROBI, KENYA | Six leaders from the East African Community (EAC) on Tuesday vowed to support former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC).
The leaders from Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda said Odinga is the right candidate for the continental job.
Speaking during the official unveiling of Odinga’s AUC bid in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Kenyan President William Ruto said Odinga is a visionary leader who possesses the professional capacity and experience that make him the ideal candidate to lead the AUC.
“Kenya endorses Raila Odinga’s candidacy unreservedly, and we commit wholeheartedly to supporting his candidature, his vision, and his leadership,” Ruto said,
The Kenyan leader also said the assignment at the AUC is a noble cause aimed at bringing freedom and democracy, stability and security, peace and prosperity. “Odinga enjoys a sterling reputation as a zealous pan-African who has consistently demonstrated a strong faith in Africa’s possibilities and exemplary commitment to the cause of laying a robust foundation for Africa’s transformation in our time.”
The AUC chairperson’s seat is set to fall vacant in February 2025 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.
Odinga pledged to make the African Union a people-centered organization by cooperating with all leaders to achieve his vision.
Odinga said conflicts and wars, hunger, poverty, violent extremism, adverse climate change, acute unemployment among youth, transboundary pandemics, and infectious diseases are among the challenges facing Africa.
He said the continent has suffered slavery, colonialism, humiliation, repeated aggression, and internal violent conflicts. However, he noted that, like the legendary phoenix, Africa has risen from the ashes of these historical atrocities to make a full-blown arrival on the global stage.
The former Kenyan prime minister promised that if elected, he would use the transition period to critically analyze existing proposals for reforms and build the capacity of the AUC; if elected, he would eliminate visa requirements within African countries, combat trade barriers, and ensure the continent benefits from its mineral resources.
Odinga is expected to compete against three other candidates, including Mahmoud Youssouf of Djibouti, Anil Gayan of Mauritius, and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar, for the AUC chairman post.
Key regional leaders, including Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, and South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, graced the event. Other leaders present included Burundian Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca. Rwandan President Paul Kagame sent a representative.
— With files from Xinhua
