Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has defended President William Ruto following his failure to clinch the African Union Chairmanship seat.

Speaking during a dinner hosted in his honour in Addis Ababa on Saturday, February 15, 2025, warned against blame games against anyone, assuring that all parties involved had done their best.

“We accept the results and I have congratulated my competitor who has won and I wish him all the best. There will be no blame games that will be played, Raila stated.

According to the opposition chief, he was the author of the decision to run for Africa’s top seat, and the government came on board to support his candidature.

“I made the decision (to run for AU chairmanship) myself. I want to say that Ruto did everything possible. He gave me all the logistical support that I needed to travel the length and breadth of the continent. We were sure to win. However, other factors came to play, and those factors are going to be known,” Raila added.

“There will be another time and other things to do.”

Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga ~President Ruto did everything possible to support me pic.twitter.com/yqYLluzYHo

— Francis Muli (@FmuliKE) February 16, 2025

Raila bows out

Raila Odinga’s journey in the AUC chairmanship race came to an end on Saturday, February 15, 2025, after six rounds of intense voting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He initially led in the first round with 20 votes, followed closely by Djibouti’s candidate Mahmoud Ali Youssouf with 18 votes and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato with 10 votes.

As the rounds progressed, Raila remained competitive, securing 22 votes in the second round and 20 in the third.

However, Mahmoud gained momentum, taking the lead in the fourth round with 25 votes against Raila’s 21. By the fifth and sixth rounds, Mahmoud had widened the gap, prompting Raila to withdraw from the contest.