The Prime Cabinet Secretary who also serves as the Cabinet Secretary for foreign affairs Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi has today alongside the former Prime Minister and Leader of opposition Raila Odinga addressed the nation on the position of the former premier vying for the African Union Commission chairmanship.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cs for Foreign affairs reiterated that as the CS for Foreign affairs he has continued to amplify the president’s truck diplomacy by engaging his counterparts in other state countries in the African Continent. He says he is doing that for the good of the people of Kenya and for the region.
Mudavadi said, “based on the principals of the inter- regional rotations, this is the time for Eastern African to nominate a person for the position of the African Union Commission Chairmanship. Therefore as per the schedule of the AUC calendar, the deadline for the submission of the regional nominations is 6th August 2024, two months from now”.
He went ahead to say that the AUC campaigns are led by the state with highly experienced and eligible state officers. He added that the state department for foreign affairs has established a campaign secretariat which includes the candidate’s strategies team.
The e Prime CS said that the secretariat will prepare all the briefs for the press, by the candidate, develop campaigns, develop campaign materials including digital presence and also prepare for the public debate that will be broadcast live to African citizens. He said that the planning should take place six month before the election date.
Currently the team is firming up preparatory and application documents together with requisite translations of the six AU languages which include French, English, Kiswahili, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish. This should be ready to the AU secretariat by the end of June 2024.
On his part, the former Prime Minister and current leader of Azimio La Umoja in the opposition started by saying that he was vying for the position on the continent of Africa and not the government of Kenya but he needed the endorsement of the government. Odinga said that they had a meeting between the government and his team concerning the position, his quest for the position so far, the preparation on his side, the government side and the next step that requires to be taken.
He went ahead to say that the Prime CS had shared with him the position and preparations of the government towards his ques for his position noting that he has been very encouraged by the number of many government officials who have offered to be part of the journey. He said that the move was out of an understanding that they are the mission of Kenya as a nation and not as partisan political parties.
He appreciated the support offered by Kenyans. Mr. Odinga said that he used the opportunity in the meeting to share his level of preparations outside the government. Sharing with the government team, he said that he was making every effort tapping from his experience, relationship and understanding of the continent to win the support of as many nations as possible. He added, ‘’with committed and proper coordination, we should be able to clinch the seat.”
In his address to the press, Odinga opened to say that he was pushed to vie for the position by many friends, saying that many Kenyans have been wondering how he ended up making such a decision. He said that many of his friends outside Kenya approached him urging him to go for the position.
