Kenya’s long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga has expressed his desire to run for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC).
The 78-year-old businessman, appointed – in 2018 – as High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa as part of the African Union’s drive to expedite the integration of the continent through infrastructure, said he was competent enough to head the continental body.
Based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the African Union Commission is the AU's secretariat which undertakes the day-to-day activities of the Union.
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The son of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, the first vice president of independent Kenya, heads the opposition coalition Azimio la Umoja in Kenya. He served as Kenya’s prime minister from 2008 to 2013.
"I want to make it public that I’m ready, yes, to go for the chairmanship of the African Union,” said Odinga, at a news conference on Thursday, February 15, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
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Odinga, who has lost five times as a candidate for Kenya’s presidency, was accompanied by Nigeria’s former president and AU envoy Olusegun Obasanjo. Odinga condemned what he called the "brain drain” of Africa’s talent to other continents.
"It is appalling to see African young people drowning in the Mediterranean Sea in search for greener pastures out of the continent,” he said,
"It’s a tragedy that ought to be reversed, and because of all these considerations, I’m inclined to accept the challenge.
"Should the leadership of Africa want my services I am ready and offer myself to be of service to this continent.”
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Odinga, who served as the AU’s high representative for infrastructure development from 2018 t0 2023, said his tenure at the continental body made him understand Africa's need for economic development.
"That position gave me a good advantage to be able to learn about each and every African country and I believe that working with all these countries we can be able to emancipate Africa," he said.
Odinga, a mechanical engineer by training, has been active in Kenyan politics since the 1970s. He lost his fifth bid at the presidency in 2022, after William Ruto won. He had run for president in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017.
A new chairperson for the continental body will be elected in 2025 to replace its current head, Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat from Chad, who was re-elected in February 2021. Faki was first appointed in 2017.
The chairman of the Commission is elected by the continental body’s general assembly, for a four-year term that is renewed once.