Murang’a senator Joe Nyutu has outlined blunders from the government which he says may have cost the country the position of chairperson at the African Union Commission (AUC) on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

Speaking during a morning TV show on Monday, February 17, 2025, Nyutu indicated that while there was the politics of francophone countries and Islamic countries at play, some of the blunders by Ruto may have cost the former Prime Minister the opportunity to lead the continental body.

“There were many blunders that the president committed and I think, ultimately, this is what cost us. Of course, there were these factors about francophone countries who voted as a bloc and Islamic countries who also voted as a bloc; but looking at the result of the first and the second round, I think that is not what was at play,” Nyutu noted.

“After the second round, what cost us were the blunders of the president and this is about his position on the Palestinian conflict with Israel, where he was seen to have sided with Israel and that may have cost us all the Muslim state vote.”

Suspicious support

Nyutu also observed that the intention of Ruto to support Raila for the AUC seat was suspicious and that heads of state may have been briefed on it and decided to vote the other way.

“These are heads of state, people who consume intelligence every day. I think they also interrogated Ruto’s intention in supporting Raila. Did he support Raila because he believed in his statesmanship and the pan-African ideologies or did he support Raila because he wanted him out of the Kenyan space,” the senator quipped.

Equally, Nyutu said that Kenya’s position in the DRC may have cost Raila the position at the helm of the African Union Commission and that SADC countries could have voted for Djibouti candidate Mahmoud Youssouf.

AUC elections

In the first round of the election, SADC candidate Richard Randriamandrato got 10 votes while Raila won by garnering 20 votes and Djibouti’s candidate Mahmoud Youssouf secured 18.

In the second round, Raila maintained his lead with 22 against Youssouf’s 19 while Randriamandrato fell to seven. However, Youssouf overtook Raila in the third round by getting 23 votes against Raila’s 20 while Randriamandrato got 5 votes.

Youssouf continued his lead into the fourth round by garnering 25 votes against Raila’s 21 in the fourth round and further widened the margin by getting 26 votes against Raila’s 21 in the fifth round.

In the sixth round, Youssouf had 26 votes against Raila’s 22 and in the seventh round, he garnered 33 votes to secure the position of the African Union Commission chairperson for a four-year term.