Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has challenged Kenya’s African Union Commission chairperson hopeful Raila Odinga to help African leaders mobilise support for development purposes, should he land the position.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the Piny Luo Cultural Festival 2024 in Siaya County, Museveni noted that Uganda will fully support the candidature of Odinga for the AUC position.
He went on to challenge the opposition veteran to ensure that he helped the regional leaders brainstorm on how they could best transform Africa.
“We’re supporting the candidature of Raila for AUC chairmanship. He will help us to do mobilisation and brainstorming, but the real power is with us here,” Museveni explained.
He however cautioned that Raila’s success in the upcoming elections will be entirely dependent on how the government supports him.
“Those in power can decide whether to move or not. For him, he can talk he’s like a preacher, like John the Baptist,” he added.
President Ruto on the other hand, speaking at the same event maintained that Kenya is hopeful that Raila will land the seat with elections scheduled in February.
Ruto revealed that before Kenya flouted the idea of supporting Raila, they jointly sought the advice of the Ugandan leader, who helped them reach a consensus with other East African heads to support him.
“Raila is not a candidate for Kenya, he is a candidate for East Africa. Before we rolled out his candidature, we went to Mzee Museveni and spoke to all East African heads of state and confirmed we have the right candidate with the right credentials to champion the unity, progress, and success of Africa,” Ruto stated.
The AUC chairpersonship election will take place during the 38th AU Summit in Addis Ababa in February.
