AU bid was my plan not Ruto's as many think, Raila to Azimio leaders

Azimio leader Raila Odinga was on Tuesday carpeted by the coalition’s summit to explain the circumstances under which he declared his intention to contest for the position of the African Union Commission chairperson without informing his peers in the opposition.

During a tense meeting, the first one after Raila declared his candidature, the Azimio party leader was hard-pressed to explain how he and President William Ruto reached a “sort of a handshake” to a point earning the government’s support for the bid.

Multiple sources independently explained how Raila used the opportunity to quell murmurs that have rocked his coalition over his move to contest the AUC chairperson without informing his co-principals.

In the four-hour meeting described by those who attended as ‘tense’, Raila explained it was not President William Ruto who prodded him to vie, but former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo and their meeting with Ruto and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni was just a coincidence. 

“He (Raila) informed us that he had arranged for a separate meeting with Museveni and that he only knew that Ruto would attend the meeting ‘after he got a tip from an intelligence officer from Kenya. He said he came directly from Namibia for a State funeral but Ruto was from Kenya accompanied by Energy CS David Chirchir to settle the oil issues with Uganda,” a close confidant who requested not to be named said. 

Raila went on to inform the summit the Kenya Kwanza administration only knew about his candidature from Addis Ababa and then prompted Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi who is also the Foreign Affairs CS to use that knowledge to the government’s advantage. 

At the same time, the ODM leader told the Azimio leaders who included Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) Mwangi Wa Iria (Usawa Kwa Wote) George Wajakhoya (Roots Party  Eugene Wamalwa (DAP-Kenya) and Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni that their meeting in Mombasa with Ruto and Obasanjo has nothing to do with his intentions. 

“He said by the time they met in Mombasa, the issue of him vying for the AUC had not cropped up and the former Nigeria President proposed to him to vie when they emerged for a presser indicating that he was ready for the candidacy,” said another source.

“He said Obasanjo, while on his way to Addis Ababa, passed by and Raila informed him that he is the best-placed person to lead the AUC as it needed a politician for it to link better with African countries and that was the reason why he had not informed us. By the time he announced things happened faster than he anticipated a move that left him with no time to inform us,” another source told The Standard. 

Another hot potato at the meeting was the transition in the Azimio leadership with Raila calling for unity.

“He asked us to remain united because he is still here for another year and the issue of transition can be dealt with once he gets the position. According to Raila, he is not assured of the seat as Madagascar and Morroco have fielded candidates and hence the issue of succession should be toned down,” a source said. 

Raila, our sources added, further informed the crisis meeting that he had held separate meetings with Azimio chairperson and former President Uhuru Kenyatta and told him about his intentions and that he had agreed to support his bid by talking it to former African Heads of State.  He added that the East African countries have agreed to have him as their candidate.

The summit leaders urged Raila to tread with caution while dealing with President Ruto as he could set him up to fail with the purpose of beating him in his own game politically. 

“We held the view that Ruto is a cunning politician who may purport to support him publicly but behind the scenes plot his downfall and reap politically by telling the masses that he has been rejected nationally and internationally,” a source said. 

Another leader, who spoke at the summit, said “While leaders are publicly supporting his bid for the AUC contest, Kenyans feel exposed to the punitive tax regime by the Ruto administration and they feel Raila has thrown them under the bus.”

The leaders told Raila that despite the fact that he was being sponsored by the State and despite their goodwill messages, they would continue criticising the Kenya Kwanza government by defending and fighting for the rights of the people. 

“We informed Baba that we shall not turn a blind eye on the oppression meted to the ordinary citizens by the Ruto-led administration,” a source said. 

When the Azimio coalition Principles came out to address the media, Raila seemed to have been lost in thought while Kalonzo, Wamalwa and Wa Iria exhibited the camaraderie they had been showing to the public. 

Kalonzo asked Kioni to read a press statement on behalf of the coalition before giving the apologies of Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua who did not attend the meeting, explaining that she was in Dar el Salam for her private issues. 

Kioni said Azimio had resolved to continue being united and holding the Kenya Kwanza government to account. 

“As we support Raila, we will also support the right of Kenyans for affordable living, lower taxes and a functional economy that guarantees a decent living,’ he read. 

Kioni said there were plans by the government to undermine the National Dialogue Committee report. 

“We notify those forces that should any efforts to undermine or tamper with the report succeed, there will be a very heavy price to pay. 

“We call on the President to rein in on the speakers or the two houses of Parliament and a number of members of the national executive who are hell-bent on derailing Nadco,” Kioni read. 

They further called on the government to revise the taxes which they termed unreasonable and unsustainable claiming “the Kenya Kwanza regime is failing the test of being caring and compassionate”.