News just in Nyamakima folks rejoice as Baba writes own epitaph in Addis Ababa

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga lost the AUC chairmanship election in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 15, 2025. [File, Standard]

"Hayaaaaaaaaa!" a man grunts, before imitating a newscaster: "Habari za hivi punde..." News just in, Mahmoud Ali Yousouff is the new African Union Commission chair," the street broadcaster says, before wailing "Kimeibio, kirudio!"

The latter, a colloquial quip insinuating that the polls have been rigged, and so must be repeated, is a leitmotif that defined Raila Odinga aka Baba, the former opposition leader who recently contested and lost in his quest for African Union leadership.