Former UNCTAD Secretary- General Mukhisa Kituyi. Photo/Newsflash
By Wesley Koech
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Mukhisa Kituyi has shed light on what he believes might prevent Kenya’s Africa Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship candidate Raila Odinga from clinching the seat.
According to Dr Kituyi, the dynamics for electing leadership for the African Union are not determined by good campaigning strategies or the resources that a country provides for the campaign, but by a pool of factors.
“You can say that the Francophone countries campaign better, but there are other dynamics beyond the energies and the resourcing of campaigns by the countries sponsoring candidates,” Kituyi said.
One of the reasons he gave is that the Francophone countries vote as a block and that it is their tradition; therefore, it will be hard for them to vote for a non-Francophone candidate.
“Normally, it is extremely difficult for a Francophone speaker to vote as a block for a non-Francophone speaker, especially if there is a French speaker among the candidates,” he said.
Ruto’s Israel support
Secondly, Kituyi said that Raila’s move to appoint President William Ruto as his chief campaigner came with a negative impact considering that a big percentage of African states are Muslim, therefore his move to support Israel’s invasion in Gaza tainted Kenya’s image.
“They did not take it kind when Kenya’s President rushed to stand behind Israel on its unjustifiable genocide in Gaza. That doesn’t sit well. That means Ruto does not become an asset if the most countries to vote are Arabic countries,” the politician.
On the other hand, Kituyi said that the Anglophone votes are divided and that will be an added advantage to the Francophone candidate since he will not share his votes. With this, he says, it will be quite easy for the Djibouti’s candidate Mahamoud Ali Youssouf to win the seat.
“I know that Raila has done his best but I don’t know how it will work,” said Kituyi.
The elections will be held on Saturday, 15th February, 2025 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
