Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa has questioned the process through which Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga was nominated as Kenya’s candidate for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairmanship.
In a statement on Tuesday, December 31, he compared the decision-making process for Raila's bid to other national selections, emphasizing the importance of transparency and public involvement in such high-stakes matters.
“To select Kenyans to represent us at the Olympics, we hold playoffs to identify the best. To select players for the Harambee Stars, we also conduct playoffs to choose the finest. To select Kenyans to represent us in the EALA Parliament, there is voting,” he explained.
Thang’wa then questioned which criteria were used to decide to pick Raila as the country's candidate for the AUC bid.
“The big question is: as a country, how did we arrive at sending Raila Odinga to vie for the AU Chairmanship? Was there any public participation, playoffs, or consultations? How exactly did we decide?” he added.
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Raila announced his candidacy for the AUC Chairperson position in February 2024.
The election to succeed the current Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, is scheduled for February 2025.
With Raila's bid garnering significant support from various African leaders, President William Ruto has been actively lobbying for the former Prime Minister, securing endorsements from countries such as Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Angola.
Additionally, Raila has engaged with regional foreign ministers and leaders to bolster his candidacy.
He also participated in a public debate alongside other candidates, including Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti and Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, December 27, Raila said he was looking forward to a win in the AUC chairmanship vote.
Reflecting on his campaign and the possible outcome of the vote, Raila said he was ready, however, noting that he would take any outcome after the vote.
"If we win, very good for us. We are not competing to lose, are competing to win. Of course, there is a winner and a loser; so if we lose, so what? We are basically here in Kenya, there will be other things for us to do. So we are not worried about losing," he said.
