Nairobi — Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will face his challengers for the Africa Union Commission (AUC) chairperson seat in a televised debate.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said Wednesday, during a joint briefing with Odinga, that the debate will take place in September, six months before the elections slated for February 2025.
Candidates eyeing to succeed the incumbent Moussa Faki include Seychelle's Vincent Meriton, Djibouti's Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and Somalia's Fawzia Yusuf Adam.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary announced that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a campaign secretariat which includes Odinga's strategy team to bolster Kenya's chance of winning the seat.
"The Secretariat will prepare all the briefs for use by the candidate, develop campaign materials including digital presence and prepare for public debate to be broadcast live for African citizens," he said.
"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."
Further Mudavadi said the secretariat had developed an "empirical" campaign strategy that has identified opportunities, challenges, and risks that Kenya's candidature faces.
Kenya confident
He reiterated that Odinga is well qualified to advocate for Africa's interests at home and abroad.
"Kenya is certain that our candidate, Odinga, has credentials and the passion to advocate for Africa's interests globally and champion for more opportunities for Africa and her people," he said.
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Odinga thanked the government and Kenyans for the support, reiterating the need for coordination and synergy in the campaign.
Further, the former Prime Minister said the decision to run for the AUC chairmanship 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 said.
Odinga highlighted his previous experience as the AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development, saying it provided him insight into the continent's challenges, weaknesses, and potential.
"I believe that I have sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to move the AU forward," he said.
