Ruto backs Raila over Kenyatta for AU top job

Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition Chief Raila Odinga are reportedly eying a top African Union job that is set to fall vacant next year.

Raila and Uhuru — all key luminaries in Azimio — are seeking to replace Moussa Faki of Chad as the new AU Commission chairperson.

There are indications that Uhuru could have accepted to drop his candidature in favour of Raila who is banking on his international networks to get the job.

But any candidate for the AU top job must be fronted by member states.

This means a Raila or Uhuru candidature must have the endorsement of President William Ruto's administration.

Ruto's fronting of Raila for the continental job would radically shift the country's political landscape as it would almost amount to “a handshake”.

It would also remove Raila from the 2027 presidential race, triggering fresh realignments.

AU chairperson are required to be neutral in political contests across the continent.

The AU Commission chair is a big post that elevates the holder to a near head of state.

The office holder is a key player in major international happenings, including elections, conflicts and development, not only in Africa but globally. 

Sources said a deal to have Raila replace Faki could have been hammered in July last year that paved way for the bi-partisan talks.

Big international players, including ex-Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo were involved in mediating the post-election row between Ruto and Raila.

The ODM leader had also mentioned South African President Cyril Ramaposa and his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Suluhu.

Contacted for a comment, Raila’s spokesperson Dennis Onyango however told the Star that he is unaware of any plans by the state to front Raila as the country’s nominee.

“I am not aware of the plans,” he said.

According to the procedure, a host country nominates a candidate and then mobilises support from the region and the continent for its candidate.

Should the plans come to pass, then Raila's candidature will have to be officially championed by his former ally turned critic Musalia Mudavadi.

Mudavadi is the country's Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs boss.

A former senior official who worked in Uhuru's administration confided to the Star that even though the former head of state fits the bill, he has not been approached by the government of the day.

“We have very good people considered to be statesmen like the Aminas of this world (ex Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed) and of course Uhuru Kenyatta, already doing international diplomacy,” he said on condition of anonymity.

He went on; “Kenya has never had the opportunity to provide leadership in the African continent, it is vindictive of the dysfunction in our own diplomacy and political process that we have never been able to put up a viable candidate.”

In 2017, Amina contested against Faki but flopped.

Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura asked for time to consult on whether the government would front someone for the job

“I need to consult because there are so many foreign affairs issues. I will get back to you,” Mwaura told the Star on phone.

He later referred us to Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Abraham SingOei.

The PS had not responded to our inquiry at the time of going to press.

Faki’s second and final four-year term ends next year having been elected to the coveted office on  January 30, 2017.

However, the fierce campaigns that involve securing the backing of the 55 African states starts this year.

Superpowers including the US are always keen to influence who becomes the AU chair.

Like Raila, Faki has served as Cabinet Minister and Prime Minister in the Chadian government.

Raila has served in a number of critical positions in a career spanning more than 40 years.

In addition to having been a Member of Parliament, he has held important ministerial portfolios, including Energy, Roads, Public Works, and Housing between 2001 and 2005.

He has also served as Prime Minister of Kenya from 2008 to 2013.

While naming him the AU High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa in 2018, Faki described Raila as having ‘a rich political experience and strong commitment to the ideals of Pan-Africanism and African integration, as well as a deep knowledge of infrastructure development’.

A top diplomat in the former government said the state should make up its mind and make public the candidate, if any, to avoid the 2017 mistakes that saw Amina trounced.

“If indeed, there is a candidate. That candidate should be a matter of public debate already because secret candidate do not work, it is unfortunate that we have not yet positioned someone in the eyes of the nation, continent and the international community,” he said.

“The fact that we have not succeeded in the past is because we did not get our timing right the last time, we put up a candidate—Amina Mohamed— when we knew very well that the stars were not aligned in the continent for her candidature, and we tried to force that candidature on the continent and that is why our candidate fails,” he said.

But there are concerns in diplomatic circles that a Kenyan candidate could easily get into trouble because of Ruto's diplomatic posture.

Ruto has come under scrutiny from Sudan and Congo for hosting what critics say are rebels.

President Ruto on Wednesday last week held talks with Sudan's Rapid Support Forces leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, at State House, Nairobi.

General Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”, is a protagonist in the Sudanese conflict.

The army, led by Sudan’s de facto ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy-turned-rival, Dagalo, are engaged in blame game over the bloody war.

The Nairobi meeting forced Khartoum to recall its envoy from Nairobi in protest.

In the recent weeks, Uhuru has been holed up in meetings with foreign envoys paying him a courtesy call at his Nairobi offices.

On December 11, Uhuru met Chinese ambassador Zhou Pingjian.

The meeting preceded similar meetings with US ambassador Meg Whitman and British High Commissioner to Kenya Neil Wigan.