The government is pulling all the stops to ensure its candidate for the top African Union Commission job, Opposition leader Raila Odinga, clinches the position.

Yesterday, the government unveiled a grand strategy that kicks off tomorrow when President William Ruto formally launches Raila’s campaign at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

Yesterday, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi expressed confidence that Raila’s quest for the chairmanship of the AUC is firmly on course.

Mudavadi said after tomorrow’s official launch of Raila’s candidacy, an event to be overseen by President Ruto, it will be all systems go and nothing will be left to chance to ensure Kenya clinches the seat.

“The President will not be announcing only to the Kenyan people but also significantly to the continent and the international community at large that the official candidate for Kenya in the AUC race is none other than Raila Amolo Odinga,” said Mudavadi.

Team of experts

Mudavadi, who is also the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, noted that the campaigns will be led by highly experienced and knowledgeable individuals to ensure a well-coordinated, targeted and result-oriented effort.

Insiders yesterday revealed that the government is racing against time to put Raila’s house in order ahead of the elections to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February next year.

To start, the government has merged Raila’s secretariat with its team of experts, launched his campaign website and will soon unveil the campaign’s materials, including posters, flyers and branded clothes.

The government will also be relaying details about how many countries support Raila’s bid and those that are likely to be convinced to do so in the coming days.

So far, the figures indicate that of 55 African countries, 48 are eligible to vote and of those, Kenya needs 66 per cent (32 countries), with 25 having confirmed to support Raila’s bid.

Speaking yesterday, Mudavadi said after Kenya successfully handed in Raila’s papers and credentials, beating the 6 August deadline, structured planning has been going on ahead of the official launch.

In previous remarks, Mudavadi reiterated that Raila represents the nation’s voice, values and aspirations for the continent.

Consolidating support

He has urged Kenyans to stand with Raila’s candidacy not just as a government, but as a united people.

Mudavadi spoke on the sidelines of the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD-9) Ministerial Meeting that closed Sunday.

While in Tokyo, Mudavadi seized the opportunity to rally several foreign affairs ministers from African Union member states attending the conference to support Kenya’s bid.

“There are over 25 ministers for foreign affairs representing their countries in this conference and we have spent a lot of time talking and persuading them as we target to harness more support and lobby aggressively for the Kenyan candidate,” said Mudavadi.

“Now we cannot afford to lose time as this election takes place in February 2025. Africa is huge and even before the official launch the President has been leading a lot of campaigns, approaching many of his colleagues in the continent, and now we must do the follow-up and jointly with the candidate consolidate ground.”

Among others, Mudavadi met foreign ministers from Senegal, Liberia, Mauritania and Egypt wand presented Kenya’s case.

He noted that the focus would be on gaining more support and no ceding ground at any given point.

Campaign secretariat

He had earlier stated that the campaign secretariat will be responsible for drafting all necessary briefs for the candidate, producing campaign materials, and arranging for a public debate to be broadcast live across Africa.

“Because largely these campaigns will call for foreign engagement, we will have to go full blast as soon as the official launch on Tuesday and naturally the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which I head, will be very pivotal in undertaking this exercise,” said Mudavadi in Tokyo.

Newly appointed Kenyan ambassador to Tokyo, Moi Lemoshira, who accompanied Mudavadi at various meetings with AU member states’ foreign affairs ministers, touted Raila’s track record and experience.

“We need to appreciate that we have a very strong candidate in Hon. Raila Odinga. He is an experienced leader who has served in various high-level positions in Kenya and Africa especially when he was the AU envoy for infrastructure, a very relevant position in the future of AUC leadership,” said Lemoshira.

“Raila’s credentials also position him as a big consensus builder. It is important to reflect on the past experiences of elections of such a position and we should have confidence in our candidate. It is my believe that a good number of the African Union member states will be able to rally support behind Raila Odinga.”

Others in race

The AUC chairperson’s seat is set to fall vacant in February 2025 when its current occupant, Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, finishes his second term.

Raila is facing off with Mohamoud Youssouf (Djibouti), Anil Gayan (Mauritius) and Richard Randriamandrato (Madagascar).