President Uhuru lobbies leaders to back Kenya's bid for top AU position

President Uhuru Kenyatta holds bilateral meeting with Ghana President John Dramani Mahama on the sidelines of the AU Extra Ordinary Summit on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in Africa Meeting at Lome, Togo.PHOTO: STANDARD

President Uhuru Kenyatta lobbied Heads of State and Government to support Kenya’s quest for the African Union Commission Chair.

On the sidelines of the African Union Extraordinary Summit on Maritime Security and Safety and Development in Africa in Lome, Togo, Uhuru separately met eight Heads of State and Government to rally support for Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed’s candidature for the position.

The leaders included Presidents Faure Gnassingbé (Togo), Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (Mali), Alpha Condé (Guinea), John Dramani Mahama (Ghana) and Idriss Déby (Chad), who is also the Chairman of AU.

Others were Presidents Alassane Ouattara (Ivory Coast), Denis Sassou Nguesso (Congo Brazaville) and Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal of Algeria.

In an interview in Lome, CS Amina said a number of countries supported Kenya’s bid.

But she pointed out that the AU Commission Chair was an elective position and required energy and commitment to win it.

“That is why it was important for the President to have discussions with the leaders on the candidature even though he had sent out letters to them,” the CS said.

The Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary said she was vying for the position because it was time for Kenya to provide a candidate that will unite the continent.

“My credentials, especially in building consensus and carrying out reforms, are critical in bringing everybody together,” she said.

Amina’s credentials include being the first woman to lead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kenya.

She was elected President of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for the next 4 years. She was the Chairperson of the historic World Trade Organisation (WTO) 10th Ministerial Conference and Co-Chairperson of the Ministerial segment of the first Tokyo International Conference of Africa’s Development (TICAD) summit to held in Africa.

Amina is the first woman to have chaired the three most important bodies of the World Trade Organisation; the Trade Policy Body, the Dispute Settlement Body and the Governing Council.

She has served as President of the Conference on Disarmament, and was the first African and the first female Chairperson of the Council of the International Organisation for Migration.

In 2010, Amb. Amina was elected President of the UN International Conference on Transnational Crime in Vienna, Austria for a two years. In 2011, she was appointed by the UN Secretary General as UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP).

On October 3, President Kenyatta nominated Amina to vie for the AU Commission chairperson’s post.