‘Raila’s AUC bid failed due to Kenya’s dangerous manners’ – Senator Sifuna
Wednesday nineteenth February, 2025 08:42 PM|
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Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has attributed ODM chief Raila Odinga’s unsuccessful bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairperson place to Kenya’s controversial international coverage selections.
Speaking throughout a Senate session on February 19, 2025, Sifuna argued that the nation’s diplomatic stances could have alienated potential supporters.
He emphasised that it was Kenya’s international coverage, reasonably than Raila’s {qualifications}, that led to his defeat by Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf within the AUC elections.
“I want to say very clearly that there’s a consensus that there was nothing wrong with our candidate. The problem as I see it and understand it is the bad manners of the republic that he was fronted by,” Sifuna said.
The senator highlighted situations the place Kenya’s international coverage contradicted Raila’s ideas, particularly regarding regional conflicts and democratic values.
He particularly criticized Kenya’s resolution to host sure opposition teams from the Democratic Republic of Congo, suggesting this undermined regional stability.
“We were all perturbed when leaders of a rebel movement were granted the opportunity to speak from our shores here… Raila is a democrat he would never support the upending of power other than by means of democratic processes,” he defined.
Conflicting positions
Sifuna additionally identified conflicting positions on international conflicts, significantly the scenario within the Middle East, as probably damaging to Raila’s candidacy.
“Raila is my party leader and I have heard him publicly take a position to support the Palestinian people and say they have a right to a home. That is the position of the candidate but what is the position of the sponsoring country?” Sifuna questioned.
He argued that such contradictions between Raila’s private stances and Kenya’s official positions seemingly influenced the result of the AUC elections.
“When the sponsoring country takes an opposite position to the candidate it presents a problem,” Sifuna famous.
Contrasting views
In distinction, constitutional lawyer PLO Lumumba provided a distinct perspective on why Raila lost his AUC bid, citing age as a big issue.
Speaking on a neighborhood media station on February 17, 2025, Lumumba criticized Kenya’s resolution to appoint Raila for the place, calling it a strategic misstep.
“When you are eighty years of age, you don’t seek an office of that kind. This is a CEO’s office which entails a lot of travel, sitting in meetings, fundraising and all. At 80, you ought to retire,” Lumumba stated.
He additionally criticized Kenya’s diplomatic method in the course of the marketing campaign, significantly the scale of the delegation despatched to Addis Ababa, the place the AUC elections had been happening.
He known as for accountability, suggesting that Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi ought to be held accountable for the diplomatic failures.
“If I was the president of Kenya my first act would be to remove my Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and everybody who was involved because the diplomatic missteps that were being committed at all levels during the runup to this election is without comparison,” he concluded.