Mbumba offers support for Odinga’s AU Commission bid

President Nangolo Mbumba has offered Namibia’s support to former Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, who is vying for the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship.

Odinga paid a courtesy visit to president Nangolo Mbumba yesterday.

He is touring the African continent to garner support for his candidacy, starting in the southern part of Africa. The former Kenyan prime minister has also travelled to other southern African countries, including Zimbabwe and Mauritius in the last week.

Odinga said his friends asked him to run for the AUC chair.

“I have been requested by some of my friends on the continent that maybe I should offer myself,” he said

Mbumba interrupted Odinga: “Not maybe, we are telling you, you should.”

Despite this, when questioned about Namibia’s support for Odinga’s bid, presidential press secretary Alfredo Hengari told the media yesterday they “will not get an answer” on the matter.

Odinga requires 30 member states to support his candidacy.

There are two other candidates. One of them is Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, who is Djibouti’s minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, as well as the government’s spokesperson since 2005. The other candidate is Richard Randriamandrato, who served as Madagascar’s minister of economy and finance from 2018 to 2021, and afterwards as minister of foreign affairs from March to October 2022.

Odinga yesterday told the media he aims to achieve the vision of the founding fathers of the continent.

“We find this in the speeches that were made in Addis Ababa in May of 1963. They were talking of a united Africa,” he said.

Another focus for him is unity, trade and travel in Africa, which he said is minimal.

“Travelling across the continent is a nightmare. Because of visa requirements. There are several barriers to be imposed by the countries.”

Odinga said he wants to see closer unity.

“One, develop infrastructure to connect the continent. You know, Cape to Cairo. Dakar, Lagos, Mombasa,” he said.

He also called for a high-speed railway network across the continent and an easing of visa requirements.

“How do we reduce this so that we can move more freely? Air transport. All these clearances?”

Moreover, Odinga said he plans to focus on the youth because Africa is the youngest continent.

“Seventy percent of our population is below the age of 35. How do you deal with the youth so that we can have access to the internet? So that we can use artificial intelligence, to construct the internet, live from the continent,” he added.