President William Ruto, Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi and at least 100 MPs and top government officials will fly to Addis Ababa in solidarity with Raila Odinga, Kenya’s candidate for the African Union Commission chairmanship.
The Star has also learnt that other political leaders, including governors from across the political divide, will also be travelling for the vote.
The tightly fought election is scheduled at the AU Summit on February 15 and 16.
Some political leaders will be landing in Ethiopia’s capital on Thursday.
The presence of Ruto and Mudavadi signal Raila’s central role in Kenya’s politics and Ruto’s relentless campaign to get him elected.
If the ODM leader wins the elections, it would be a major diplomatic and political victory for President Ruto, as well as Raila, of course.
The triumph could cement Ruto’s hold on power, attract Raila’s political bases, and enhance his standing.
Should Raila lose the polls, however, Ruto’s political experiment of exploiting Raila’s popularity and inheriting his bases could backfire badly.
Raila’s bases then would be very unlikely to compensate for the loss of the Mt Kenya voting bloc after the impeachment of DP Rigathi Gachagua.
Raila, aged 80, could also return to the local scene to contest the 2027 presidential election or act as the elder statesman and endorse a younger ODM politician, either way, a nightmare for Ruto’s ambitions for a second term.
Raila will be battling it out with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato.
Raila is considered the front-runner. A source at Raila’s Nairobi secretariat confided to the Star that the Addis Ababa event has attracted immense interest from across the political divide.
“Yes, many MPs have been coming here requesting letters to help them process travel documents,” the source told the Star.
The source estimates about 100 lawmakers knocked on Raila’s Capitol Hill office by Thursday last week.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah will be Raila’s chief agent in Addis during the Saturday vote, demonstrating the bipartisan approach the country has taken in the AUC campaign.
“I was President William Ruto’s chief agent for seven days and I slept there (The Bomas) and Ichug’wah will be Raila’s,” he said.
While only heads of states take part in the vote, the MPs’ large presence demonstrates a show of national unity behind the Kenya’s candidate. A two-thirds vote is necessary for victory.
Foreign Affairs policy analyst Gordon K’achola told the Star the solidarity demonstrates Kenya’s internal cohesion to the international community.
“Kenyan MPs from across the political divide showing up in Addis Ababa to stand in solidarity with Raila would strengthen the idea of collective action in addressing some of the challenges in Africa,” K’achola told the Star.
The highly anticipated elections are slated for next weekend during the Heads of State and Governments’ 38th Summit at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa.
It will be preceded by the election of the six commissioners on February 12 and 13.
The high-powered delegation reflects the importance Nairobi attaches to the continental seat.
Last week, Raila, the veteran opposition chief, appeared confident of clinching the African Union Commission chairman’s seat in the first round.
Raila told journalists in Nairobi’s Eastleigh, during a tour of a shopping mall, that having done his Kenya assignment, he is now well-prepared and “very” confident of winning.
“The campaigns have been successful. We have campaigned over the length and breadth of Africa, and we are sure we will get the votes from most countries of the continent,” he said.
As he prepared for the epic vote, his secretariat in Nairobi was a beehive of activity with staff overwhelmed by MPs seeking recommendation letters to help them obtain travel documents from the Ethiopian Embassy.
Raila and his entourage are expected to depart on February 12 for Addis.
Multiple interviews by the Star show a multitude of VIPs will be airborne from tomorrow to witness the high-stakes election.
Awendo MP Walter Owino, a close confidant of Raila, confirmed to the Star that he will be there in solidarity with Baba.
Uriri MP Mark Nyamita will also be departing Nairobi on Thursday to join Raila in his quest for the top continental job.
“I believe he is the most qualified candidate and has what it takes to take the continent to the next level,” Nyamita told the Star.
Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were and his Gem counterpart Elisha Odhiambo also confirmed they will be in Addis.
“We are heading to Addis Ababa to witness Raila’s victory. We must be there when Baba is being crowned the winner,” Elisha told the Star.
In an X post, Ruto’s senior economic advisor Moses Kuria announced he too will be camping in Addis Ababa to “safeguard” Raila’s votes.
“From February 10 to D-Day on February 15, I will be camping in Addis Ababa to set up the official tallying centre,” Kuria wrote.
“There are some people I cannot trust to protect Baba’s votes. They have failed to do so in the past. I will sponsor five Baba supporters to travel with me. First is my friend Jaro Soja. Second is Dem Wa Facebook. I am still looking for three more. Baba must win.”
To clinch the seat, a candidate must secure 33 votes out of 49.
AU has 55 member countries, but six are not eligible to participate in voting.
If no candidate gets 33 votes during the first round of voting, a second round will be ordered and the whoever bags the highest number of votes will be declared the winner.
Raila’s secretariat said he has secured the endorsement of 28 countries.
Some nations that have agreed to back Raila include Mauritius, Togo, Equitorial Guinea, Gambia, Senegal, DRC, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Others are Burundi, the Seychelles, Ghana, South Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Algeria and the Republic of the Congo.
However, the election is not a walk in the park and is influenced by many geopolitical intrigues.
There is also no binding agreement that a country that has pledged to back a candidate cannot change its mind and vote for another candidate.
After months of a cross-continent diplomatic offensive by Raila, President Ruto in the last weeks of campaigning assumed the lead role in the final push to deliver victory for the former Prime Minister.
The approach for Raila is in sharp contrast with the way Nairobi handled the 2017 candidature of Amina Mohammed, which was largely driven by the secretariat and Foreign Affairs ministry, with no involvement of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Mohammed lost to Chad’s Moussa Faki.
Raila has visited 27 countries in his campaign.
He has campaigned in Tunisia, Algeria, Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Morocco, Eritrea, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Ghana, Benin, Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Others are Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt and Mauritania, among others.
