Raila’s silence on Besigye and his AUC fall

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Amolo Odinga (BABA) has lost yet another political quest. The former Kenyan prime minister, who ran for President and lost to William Ruto, had a strong interest in the continental position.

Ruto and his government supported the 80-year-old’s candidacy for chairperson of the African Union Commission.

He was up against Mahmoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti, who is now the Commission’s chairperson-elect.

Ali won the seat on Saturday by securing a two-thirds majority with 33 votes in the seventh round of voting.

The race began with Kenya’s Odinga leading the first round with 20 votes, closely followed by Djibouti’s Youssouf with 18 votes.

Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar received ten votes, while one country abstained, resulting in no clear winner.

In the second round, Odinga increased his vote total to 22, while Youssouf gained traction, receiving 19 votes and surpassing Randriamandrato, who dropped to 7 votes.

By the third round, Youssouf led with 23 votes, Odinga trailed with 20, and Randriamandrato’s support had dropped to 5 votes. One voter abstained.

In the fourth round, Youssouf had 25 votes, while Odinga trailed with 21. Two countries abstained, and one vote was invalidated.

In the fifth round, Odinga stayed at 21, while Youssouf received one more vote, moving him up to 26.

Youssouf had 26 votes in the sixth round, while Odinga increased his vote total to 22, with one abstention. However, Odinga withdrew, leaving Youssouf as the only contender.

He then advanced to the seventh round, where he won a two-thirds majority with 33 votes, officially becoming the new AUC chairperson.

Raila received equal amounts of good and bad wishes in Kenya, if not more so for the latter. His siding with the Ruto government during the Gen Zs-dominated Finance Bill nationwide protests angered many Kenyans.

The youths, many of whom saw the Finance Bill as “bad for Kenyans,” had no idea Raila would abandon their cause to walk alongside Ruto.

Back in Uganda, although it did nothing to contribute to his AUC loss, is the Odinga’s silence since his former friend Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested in Kenya and returned to Uganda.

Besigye, who is clearly in poor health, once exchanged notes with Raila. In their respective countries, the two politicians were long regarded as “saviors and challengers of bad regimes.”

Of course, friendships can be torn apart, and Raila appears to have severed his ties with Besigye before he visited Kenya on the invitation of his former running mate, SC Martha Karua.

Besigye remains in prison, and even if Raila had won the AUC chairmanship, there was no guarantee he would fly to see him or demand his immediate release.

Do we say Gen Z’s cries and Besigye’s have followed Raila?