President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. /PCS
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has expressed appreciation to President William Ruto for the unwavering support he offered towards his African Union Commission chairmanship bid.
Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday, Raila asked Kenyans to ignore those blaming the President for his loss, saying everyone in his circle did their best.
Raila stated that people should not result to blaming the loss on Ruto's lack of “doing enough”, or his (Raila's) age for the defeat.
The ODM leader said he had made the decision to vie for the position on his own and Ruto only volunteered personal and state support.
“Ruto only came and said he was going to support me and I appreciate it. I want to say Ruto did everything possible. He gave me all the support that enabled me to travel across the continent,” he said.
“He gave me a platform for me to meet all the leaders in the continent and actually we were sure we would win."
Raila, however, said some factors which were beyond their control came into play, resulting to his loss.
He nonetheless said the outcome of the results did not matter much as Kenya had won either way.
"We accept the results, I have congratulated my competitor...so ignore a lot of blame games that are going to be played."
Raila noted that he will hold his head tall, adding that there will be another chance.
The Azimio leader thanked the Kenyan leaders who travelled to Addis Ababa in solidarity with him.
Raila was eliminated from the Saturday’s race after he trailed Djibouti's Mahamoud Ali Youssouf in the fifth and sixth rounds of voting.
Madagascar's Richard Randriamandrato was eliminated earlier after trailing the race in the first, second, third and fourth rounds, leaving the race for Raila and Youssof to face off.
Youssouf won the race after garnering the requisite 33 votes in the 7th round of voting, which he contested alone.
Over the past year, Ruto actively lobbied for Raila, engaging African leaders and securing endorsements on the sidelines of key continental and regional meetings.
Following Raila’s endorsement, the Kenya Kwanza administration assembled robust and technically skilled campaign team.
The secretariat, led by Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei, included diplomatic heavyweights such as former US Ambassador Elkanah Odembo, Intergovernmental Authority on Development executive secretary Mahboub Maalim and Ambassador.
Other key figures included legal expert Prof Makau Mutua, former Nyeri Deputy Governor Caroline Karugu and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
The team actively engaged regional blocs, securing support from the East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Economic Community of West African States, among others.
Meanwhile, the former Prime Minister embarked on an intense diplomatic tour, visiting 29 capitals in a bid to shore up support.
