Why Raila Odinga is unfit to become the chairperson of the African Union

The Commonwealth Voters Privileges Rights Association (COWE VOPRA) and KUUNGANA KUJENGA KENYA (KKK) (Sauti ya mnyonge) are registered non-governmental organizations whose registration purpose was among other things to promote peace and justice.

We have noted that the African Union (AU) has said its summit will be held between February 15–16, 2025 at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, under its theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations“.

We note that on its theme for this summit, the AU highlighted that reparations, including reparatory justice, for historical crimes and mass atrocities committed against Africans and people of African descent have always been part of the complete decolonization process of the Organization of African Unity, now the AU, since its inception in 1963.

 The two organizations are aware that the elections for the chairmanship of the AU Commission will be held during the assembly of African Heads of State and Government, at this summit and wish to thank the AU for the transparency it has shown over the years during the elections.

 

David Kimengere

We are aware of the three candidates vying for the AUC chairperson position. They are: Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation minister; Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former Prime Minister and Richard Randriamandrato, Madagascar’s former Foreign Affairs minister.

We already know that they already held a televised debate broadcast live to African citizens, where the candidates elaborated on their vision and strategies for implementing the AU Agenda 2063.

However, are strongly oppose this candidature of Raila Odinga and will demonstrate in this petition that this candidate is not suitable to occupy such an office because he does not believe in the rule of law.

Here are our grounds for opposing Raila Odinga’s candidature

  • In the past this candidate Raila Odinga has taken Kenya through various acts of VIOLENCE in order to bypass Instruments of authority.
  • Odinga has always besmirched independent offices and has in the recent past (2018) in a televised event led his supporters in an attempted forceful or hostile take-over of power by swearing himself as an elected president in total disregard of the Kenyan Constitution and the Kenyan the Supreme Court.
  • In the guise of freedom of assembly, Odinga has previously incited his supporters to escalate an election dispute to a situation where they have caused mayhem, untold suffering, and bloodshed to innocent Kenyans.
  • Odinga used incitement after losing elections to negotiate political deals with the winning Presidents and he should have been charged at the ICC for causing bloodshed in 2007/2008.
  • He has orchestrated mayhem in every ELECTION cycle in Kenya where he has participated which he causes through his rejection of election results after sensing defeat or after losing. In such acts of rejecting results, he causes mayhem on the Kenyan people in every election cycle.
  • Raila Odinga recently in the year 2023 incited violent demonstrations to demand a post-election deal with the current Kenyan President and we believe he succeeded in blackmailing the President to support his bid for the AU seat through such violence.
  • In the said recent violence that was sponsored against Kenyans, a mosque and a Church were burnt in Kibra, Nairobi among many other acts of destruction that are similar to the 2007/2008 post-election violence in Kenya.
  • In 2024, he took advantage of the sweat, blood and tears of the GEN Z youths in Kenya by having his opposition party join the Government. He has mocked the young Kenyans whose protests were based on real concerns and grievances that are yet to be addressed.
  • THAT, since the GEN Z youth riots in 2024 and currently in the 2025 there has been reported cases of youth disappearances as well as documented/recorded abductions. When Kenyans have been grappling with this issue of kidnappings, this candidate has only given lip service to the issue.
  • Odinga is unsuitable to lead Africa in her current quest to tackle its challenges given that he does not recognize the role of the Youth except when they protest to make him achieve personal political goals.
  • Even in his campaign pillars for the Chairmanship of the African Union Commission, none of the pillars is about the Youth of Africa.
  • Despite him talking of the Economy, Intra African Trade, Financial Independence, Gender Equality, Agriculture and Climate, he still falls short by not including the Youth in his agenda. Gender Equality and Unemployment (cannot be misconstrued to mean the Youth Action).
  • THAT, further on the issue of abductions/kidnappings Odinga has remained silent in the wake of the abduction in Nairobi of one Kizza Besigye, a Ugandan national and Maria Sarungi Tsehai a Tanzanian. This kind of action should be condemned vigorously because the two are people of African Descent being kidnapped by the Kenya Government. We believe that if he really fights for democracy he should have spiritedly opposed such malfeasance happening in his own country.
  • In our view Raila Odinga cannot bring Justice to Africans and to the People of African Descent as envisioned by the African Union 2025.
  • Odinga has purportedly indicated that he is retiring from local Kenyan politics to concentrate with his quest for the Chairmanship of the African commission Secretariat but that is not the truth. He has in word and in action demonstrated otherwise by allowing his ODM Deputy Party Leaders to join Government while appointing others to replace them.
  • The first official business Raila Odinga ODM party members in the Kenyan cabinet announced was to introduce the controversial ADANI deals which were spiritedly opposed by Kenyans until the President of Kenya caved in o pressure and suspended the deals after the ADANI Company Directors were indicted in the USA. Odinga has continued to advocate for the corrupt ADANI deals in the Kenyan Energy Ministry and the JKIA Airport deal despite opposition by Kenyans.
  • We believe he will continue to take an active role in Kenyan local politics even after being elected Chairman and his own supporters have insisted that he will actually run for presidency in the year 2027. This can be proven through the fact that he has not officially resigned as a Party Leader of his party ODM because records by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) in Kenya shows otherwise.
  • We have previously taken the initiative to petition the African Union regarding Raila Odinga’s role in the 2007/2008 post elections violence, which petition was acknowledged by the African Union on the 30th December 2013 vide letter Reference: BC/Y/2182/12.13.
  • We believe that these matters can only be addressed by the AU and no other authority can be able to address the same satisfactorily and none of these issues raised in this Petition is pending before any other Authority, Court of Law, Constitutional body or any other Legal body.

We therefore as petitioners pray that the African Union do intervene and:

Investigate the issues we have raised regarding Raila Odinga and if found to be true, do act and bar the said candidate from taking part in the elections of the chairmanship of the African Union Commission.

Raila Odinga has ignored the fact that one of the best gifts you can ever give to the youth is to make them aware of the immense opportunities. The future Africa holds and instills in them a sense of self-respect, belief, and confidence in life.

The chairman must be free from any trouble issues.

“The trouble with troubleshooting is that it gives trouble the energy to create more trouble.”

We believe the African Union should be a guarantor of peace. We will await your substantive response to our petition as proposed in this letter.

*The author is a former hawker and secretary general and founder of KUUNGANA KUJENGA KENYA (KKK).

One thought on “Why Raila Odinga is unfit to become the chairperson of the African Union

  1. I think this petition is simply character assassination of Hon Raila Odinga. What they bring to light is not cognisant of what the situation was like then in Kenya.it was the people of Kenya who put their voice forward to achieve a levelled ground.

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