Constitutional lawyer Patrick Lumumba has attributed Raila Odinga’s loss in the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson race to poor diplomacy.
Lumumba criticised Raila’s campaign, describing it as disorganised and ineffective compared to that of the winner, Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssouf.
He noted that Raila’s team—and Kenya by extension—mistakenly assumed that when heads of state granted Raila meetings, it automatically translated into support.
“This was merely courtesy. I can tell you that one or two heads of state whom he believed were his supporters actually said, ‘No, we only accorded him courtesy," Lumumba stated.
Speaking during an interview on Spice FM on Monday morning, Lumumba argued that Raila’s campaign secretariat made significant diplomatic missteps that may have contributed to his defeat.
“The campaign strategy employed by Raila Odinga was flawed,” Lumumba said, adding that the messaging was problematic and, at times, appeared confrontational toward heads of state.
“The secretariat marketed him to the Kenyan public as if he were going to be the ‘president of presidents' which was a fundamental mistake.”
Lumumba pointed out that the campaign should have been framed differently, as the AUC chairperson is essentially the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Commission, not a leader of heads of state.
The lawyer also faulted President William Ruto’s approach to the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly his decision to engage directly with French President Emmanuel Macron instead of consulting regional leaders.
“Recently,
instead of engaging with Cyril Ramaphosa on the DRC issue, the President said,
‘I’ve engaged Macron.’ Who wants to engage with Macron on African matters?”
Lumumba questioned.
He argued that such diplomatic miscalculations highlight Kenya’s weak foreign policy strategy.
“This is
not the first time Kenya has mishandled an AUC campaign. Years ago, when Amina
Mohamed contested against Moussa Faki, we made similar mistakes,” he observed.
On Saturday, Raila lost his AUC bid to Mahmoud Youssouf in a vote by heads of state and government in Addis Ababa.
