A video of Kenyan foreign affairs permanent secretary Dr. Korir Sing’oei dismissing the letter by Southern African Development Community (SADC) on African Union Commission (AUC) has emerged days after the Djibouti candidate defeated Mr. Odinga to become the AUC Chairman..
In the video shared by Citizen TV, Korir Sing’oei rubbished the SADC letter, maintaining that it did not have any impact on Kenyan candidate Raila Amollo Odinga.
“A letter is dated the 12th of February, merely five days to the election. The letter is addressed to foreign ministers. It tells foreign ministers that it kinda introduces the candidate as if nobody within SADC even knows him. It then goes ahead to hold a ministerial summit to endorse this decision which means that this decision will not even be endorsed at the heads of state level.” He stated.
The foreign permanent secretary added that the letter was merely done out of courtesy to ask the region to support their candidate as expected.
“And so, it is not a letter that endorses the Madagascar candidate, in the end, the letter merely asks out of courtesy and asks the region as is expected to support their candidate. To our mind, we think that this letter is sought of an afterthought. We think that it is mere courtesy to show the minimalist solidarity extended to a member of their region.”
Sing’oei added that the letter would not have an impact on Raila Odinga because they had gotten assurances from several countries within the SADC region.
“And so, we don’t think that it will have any bearing, but we are not taking chances and that is why I did mention that in light of that letter, we already have quite some assurances from a number of SADC countries of their support. We are reaching out again to SADC countries to understand what the motivations of this letter could be.”He concluded.
Following these sentiments, some Kenyans felt that it was a big mistake by the Permanent secretary to dismiss the letter because most of the SADC countries actually voted for the Madagascar candidate then rallied behind the Djibouti candidate instead of backing the Kenyan candidate.
In the letter which caused confusion in the country, SADC emphasized the need for a candidate who embodies unity and consensus across the continent. “As we approach the elections, it is imperative that we support a leader who can bring together diverse voices and foster collaboration,” a SADC representative remarked, casting doubt on Odinga’s ability to rally the necessary backing. Watch the video of the PS dismissing the letter below:
