Lessons From AUC Chairperson 2025 Campaigns: Need For Review For AU Public Participation Policy Regulations
Raila Odinga (Kenya), Richard Randriamandrate (Madagascar), and Mahmoud Ali Youssouf (Djibouti)
By Gĩtaũ wa Kũng’ũ
Worth Noting:
- To deal with the political unrest, Ruto formed the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) to address the issues. NADCO was made up of members from the government and the opposition. Since then, demonstrations ceased until the release of NADCO 2023 Report in March, 2024.
- However, the NADCO report did not reflect the expectations of most Kenyans, with no resolutions for lowering the cost of living. Instead, it had proposed addition of government term additions from 5 to 7 years, included formation of office of opposition leader and of prime minister amongst other unpopular recommendations. The unveiling of NADCO Report, 2023 birthed BBG, the controversial, punitive Finance Bill 2024.
Watching, then participating in the campaigns for the chairpersonship of African Union Commission in next month’s elections taught me one thing: to promote the tenets of democracy, AUC needs a comprehensive public participation policy in governance of elections. Why?
Early last year, Kenya’s President Dr. William Samoei Ruto endorsed the then opposition leader Raila Odinga to be Kenya’s candidate for AUC chair, 2025. Were there other Kenyans who were competing for the same? Yes! There was Prof PLO Lumumba. Was he given any opportunity to compete against Odinga? No.
Odinga’s endorsement by president Ruto was commenced after the dramatic formation of Broad-based government (BBG) after the president met with the leader of opposition and created a pact of unity in a bromance between the government and the opposition.
Before the birth of BBG, president Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza (KK) policies and governance was at the time facing a strong opposition from Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja coalition after losing in the 2022 general elections.
Azimio coaltion was pushing lower cost of living by reducing fuel levy and other taxes, eliminating affordable housing levy, audit of 2022 elections, implementation of Interim Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), electoral and other reforms.
Azimio coalition started organising mass demonstrations that resulted in many casualties and deaths. The pressure forced Dr. Ruto to break his word on submitting to what he termed as Odinga’s cunningness to get himself into government through back door tricks like hand shakes.
To deal with the political unrest, Ruto formed the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) to address the issues. NADCO was made up of members from the government and the opposition. Since then, demonstrations ceased until the release of NADCO 2023 Report in March, 2024.
However, the NADCO report did not reflect the expectations of most Kenyans, with no resolutions for lowering the cost of living. Instead, it had proposed addition of government term additions from 5 to 7 years, included formation of office of opposition leader and of prime minister amongst other unpopular recommendations. The unveiling of NADCO Report, 2023 birthed BBG, the controversial, punitive Finance Bill 2024.
Wananchi, especially youths felt cheated and the Gen Z call for protests started spreading in social media platforms around May. By this time, Ruto had already started campaigning for Odinga’s AUC chairperson candidacy. The former had also joined the government by keeping silent as the government continued developing oppressive tax policies. Odinga also came into defence of government’s peculiar deals including supporting privatisation of national resources and the controversial Andani deals on JKIA. The BBG continued to support the widely unpopular hiccuped transition of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) to Social Health Authority (SHA).
Now, the endorsement by and the use of government machineries in support of Odinga’s AUC 2025 mission is ridden with controversy. It is an unflinching attack on democracy and a ruthless slaughter of the principle of public participation in governance.
Odinga was appointed by the president and annointed to represent Kenya in the race without any room for engaging in any competition or public participation.
Meanwhile, Prof PLO Lumumba was running his campaigns across the continent. He was engaging Africans through numerous online platforms.
Africans from across all walks of life even held public endorsement through youtube and other online platforms. Unfortunately for the former chairperson of Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (EACC) and respected Pan Africanism advocate, the government had refused him any chance of competing against Odinga. President Ruto eventually presented Odinga as Kenya’s candidate, toppling the professor of law’s dream.
Yet, this was not the first time that Odinga had landed himself an African Union job from the above demonstrated cards. In fact, this was yet another moment of history repeating itself.
In 2018, Odinga was appointed High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa. He had been leading mass demonstrations againt former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s governance over issues similar to the aforementioned. They engaged a handshake in March, 2018 and the government-opposition bromance birthed Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).
Uhuru appointed Odinga for the AU job and used state machineries until his appointment on 20th October, 2018. This kept him away from Kenyan politics, quelling pressure on Uhuru’s Jubilee government. Raila was eventually dropped by outgoing AU chair after his return to local politics and, remarks of ‘not recognising Ruto’s presidency’ after his defeat in 2022 elections.
In summation, the AU must therefore come up with a regulation policy and framework guideline on public inclusion and participation in top AUC offices.
This shall promote respect for AU’s Charter and the tenets of democracy. Such legislation would ensure that indeed all African people are amicably represented in choosing the leader they want and eliminates the developing trend of governments settling home political scores by dumping leaderships to the AU organs, through presidential nominations and appointment of opposition or other entities.
The regulations shall not only offer a chance for competent leadership but also allow room for democracy by offering the opportunity for contestants to compete on fair and credible grounds.
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