Nairobi — Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga Wednesday said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the government's decision to front him for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.
Odinga told reporters during a joint briefing with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on the status of Kenya's candidacy for the AUC post that the decision to run for the top seat at the continental body was personal.
He said he made the decisions after "lots of consultations and soul-searching" following persuasion by friends.
Odinga, who bitterly rejected the outcome of the 2022 presidential election, said President William Ruto's government reached out to him after his decision.
"The Kenya government did not ask me. I made a decision myself that I want to offer myself to serve the continent. You cannot run for this position without [being] sponsored by your country," Odinga told reporters.
"I was [myself] pleasantly surprised that the Kenyan government said they will support me. I expected them to say no. I don't know the reason why they said yes, that was their own decision, not mine," he stated.
Weighing in on the matter PCS Mudavadi who also doubles up as the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary said that the government decided to back Odinga because he was equal to the task.
He refuted claims that Ruto's administration was working to lock the opposition leader of the 2027 State House contest.
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"We said yes because Raila is qualified and we are looking at Kenya's and Africa's interest," Mudavadi added.
MFA-run Secretariat
To bolster Odinga's chances of winning the AUC Chairperson slot, Mudavadi announced the establishment of a campaign secretariat run by the State Department for Foreign Affairs.
This team, including Odinga's strategists, will assist the candidate in preparation for the election slated for February 2025.
Mudavadi explained the team will prepare briefs for the candidate, develop campaign materials, and prepare for a televised debate among candidates.
He indicated that the Secretariat was finalising application documents including curriculum vitae translations into six AU languages for submission by June 30.
"The team is firming up preparatory and application documents together with requisite translations of the resume into six languages; Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, French, English, and Kiswahili."
Kenya will be filing its bid ahead of the August 6 deadline.
The AU will apply the principle of inter-regional rotation in the election slated for February 2025, giving a chance to fourteen States in the Eastern bloc to produce the Commission Chairperson.
The Northern bloc will produce a Deputy Chairperson while Central, Southern, and Western regions submit at least two candidates (one female and one male) for the six Commissioner portfolios.
AUC comprises a Chairperson, a Deputy Chairperson, and six Commissioners.
AU adopted the structure in 2021 following institutional reforms in November 2018.
