President Museveni today played the role of peacemaker as Kenya’s leading political protagonists, President William Ruto and his nemesis Raila Odinga sought his blessings for the latter’s bid for the chairmanship of the African Union Commission.
The historic meeting, which was kept under wraps, was held at Museveni’s Kisozi farm in Gomba.
Just over a year ago, the two Kenyan politicians went head to head in a bruising battle for the Kenyan presidency which left the East African region, particularly Uganda, on edge.
However on Monday, they exchanged smiles, walked closely together and toured Museveni’s expansive cattle farm, a sign that the “elder of the region” as Museveni is commonly referred to, had finally rubbed his charm on them.
The details of what transpired in the meeting remain closely guarded but President Ruto in a post on X (formerly twitter) said Odinga’s AU bid had been discussed.
“Kenya and Uganda are committed to the deepening of the long-established diplomatic and economic ties between our two countries. This relationship includes bringing all the seven East African Community nations closer in their ultimate goal to form the East African Political Federation,” Ruto wrote.
Museveni said he had “discussed issues of mutual interest between our two countries and the East African Community.”
The meeting between the two Kenyan politicians underlined the fickle nature of Kenyan politics, where the truism that “there are no permanent political friends and enemies but interests,” rings true.
Odinga has unsuccessfully contested for the presidency five times (1997, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022). In 2007, he was strongly backed by Ruto only for the two fall out in 2012. Ruto subsequently backed Uhuru Kenyatta against Odinga over two election cycles and defeated the man himself in 2022.
The meeting also triggered a wave of mixed reactions on social media from Kenyans, many of whom expressed surprise and optimism about the re-union. It brought back memories of the famous handshake between Kenyatta and Odinga in March 2018, that led to a bitter fall out between Ruto and his boss.
Some said Ruto’s support for Odinga’s bid is a self-serving move calculated to keep his main opponent away from the local political scene ahead of 2027 elections.
The term of the chairperson of the AU commission is four years, renewable once. This means that should Odinga succeed in his bid, he will not be available until 2029 since the current term of Moussa Faki ends in 2025.
Some of Odinga’s fervent supporters expressed dismay at the move claiming that he had sold out.
Since he declared his candidacy a month ago, Odinga has been on a charm offensive, trying to shore up support from African leaders.
