PLO Lumumba: Why Raila lost AUC chairmanship

PLO Lumumba, an Advocate of the High Court has pointed to key mistakes that led to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s loss in the African Union (AUC) chairmanship race.

Speaking on Spice FM on Monday, Lumumba said Kenya's weak diplomatic relations contributed to Odinga’s defeat. 

He noted Odinga’s camp, mistook meetings with presidents for genuine support. 

“The Raila camp and Kenya by extension assumed that when the presidents accorded him the courtesy of meeting them, that amounted to support. This was courtesy and it's indicative of how as a country our diplomacy is weak,” he said.

Lumumba criticised the campaign procedure used by Odinga, accusing him and his allies of presenting the position as if Odinga were the ‘president of presidents.’ 

“This is the head of the secretariat yet they were marketing it to the Kenyan population that Odinga was to be the president of presidents,” he added.

The lawyer further devalued Odinga’s candidacy, saying, “At 80, you ought to retire,” suggesting the campaign was a costly net loss for the Kenyan candidate.

Lumumba also opined that President William Ruto’s support for Odinga was politically motivated, aimed at securing political gains ahead of the next election. 

“The president saw this as an opportunity to exile Odinga so that he could inherit his political constituency,” he added.

Ahead of the AU election, a delegation of Kenyan politicians accompanied Odinga to Addis Ababa, but Lumumba described their conduct as “undignified.” 

He compared them unfavourably with the dignified campaigns of Madagascar’s and Djibouti’s candidates. “The conduct of Kenyans, and their singing outside AU… you send large delegations of people who are doing nothing?” Lumumba questioned.

He was also critical of Odinga walking side by side with Ruto in Addis Ababa, saying it made Odinga appear “owned by the state.” Lumumba explained, “At no time did you see the Djibouti candidate walk with his president, he was a candidate on his right.”

Lumumba also took issue with Ruto's approach to regional affairs, noting the president had engaged with French President Emmanuel Macron over the DRC issue instead of with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

“Who wants to engage with Macron on African issues?” he asked.

Odinga finished second after Djibouti’s Mahmoud Youssouf who secured the AUC chairmanship with 33 votes.