Will Kenya manage to have Amina Mohammed chair African Union ?

Ms Amina Mohamed, the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary. PHOTO | FILE 

By FRED OLUOCH

Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has offered herself for the position of African Union Commission Chair in the January elections in a race, a race influenced more by geopolitics than the credentials of the candidates.

Despite Kenya being upbeat that Ms Mohammed, who has been endorsed by East Africa Community and Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa) will carry the day, President Uhuru Kenyatta last week acknowledged that nothing was certain.

“Somalia and Egypt have publicly said they will vote for Kenya, but in the complex AU voting system most countries are likely to take their cue from their regional groupings such as the EAC, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), or Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas),” said a statement from State House after President Kenyatta’s return from Morocco, where he attended the COP22 climate conference.

While there, President Kenyatta met 30 leaders including Nigeria, Gabon, Rwanda, Seychelles, the Comoros, Sudan, Senegal and Chad to drum up support for Ms Mohamed adding to the diplomatic forays that have already seen his deputy William Ruto and special envoys criss-cross the continent for votes.

The intense lobbying the Kenya government has instituted is an indication that the country is ready to pull out all the stops to put Ms Mohamed at the helm of the continental body.

The EAC Council of Ministers, led by chairperson Dr Augustine Mahiga, also resolved to collectively campaign and lobby other African countries in support of Ms Mohammed’s bid.

However, the AU Commission is a different ball game with the five regions pushing for their interests. Kenya must prove that it is capable of uniting the majority of 55 partner states behind Ms Mohamed’s candidature. 

Trade law

Apart from her legal background that makes her understand international agreements and the continent’s engagement with the rest of the world, Ms Mohamed is an experienced diplomat with impressive credentials, having been the first woman chair the World Trade Organisation General Council in 2005.

Ms Mohamed worked as Kenya’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva for seven years and rose to become the lead negotiator for the 77 Group (a coalition of developing countries at the WTO advocating their integration into the global economy, and the eradication of poverty worldwide) and the African Group.

“She is a fine diplomat with years of experience. Her legal background, having studied international trade law, helps her understand international agreements very well,” said Moses Wetang’ula, the Bungoma Senator who worked with Ms Mohamed for many years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

With five EAC partner states, Ms Mohammed — who had earlier been mentioned in Kenya as a possible candidate for the post of the UN Secretary General— has passed one major hurdle.

She has to address herself to Vision 2063 aimed at transforming Africa’s socio economics in the next 50 years, which is the rekindle pan-Africanism, self-reliance in financing its programmes and continental economic integration
But Kenya has also stepped on many toes while trying to lobby African countries to withdraw from the Rome Statute.

Ms Mohamed, in particular, has been instrumental in lobbying African states at the Assembly of State Parties when both President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto were facing charges at the International Criminal Court.

Credentials

This did not go down well with countries supportive of the ICC such as Botswana, Senegal, Nigeria and the Cote d'Ivoire. She also has to win the confidence of the so-called Big Five—South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt and Libya — who provide the bulk of the AU funding.

While South Africa is with the SADC which solidly behind the Botswana Foreign Minister Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moito, it would be difficult for Nigeria to go against Ecowas that is also united behind Prof Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal.

Diplomatic sources from Addis Ababa told The EastAfrican that the 55-year old Ms Mohamed can only win if she gets the support of the Francophone countries that are normally very influential during the AU elections. Ms Mohamed is also a former assistant secretary-general and deputy executive director at the United Nations Environmental Programme.

While nominating Ms Mohamed in early October, President Kenyatta gave her credentials as the first woman to have chaired the three most important bodies of WTO; the Trade Policy Body, the Dispute Settlement Body and the Governing General Council.

“Given her track record, I am confident that Ms Mohamed will serve our continent with the requisite professionalism, intellect, skill, integrity, passion and commitment. I have no doubt that her international experience and exposure will be an invaluable asset in driving the African Commission to the achievement of Africa’s immense potential,” President Kenyatta wrote in the nomination letter.

Born in 1961, Ms Mohamed graduated with an LLM in International Law from Kiev State University, Ukraine and also attained a Postgraduate Diploma in International Relations from the University of Oxford. She is fluent in English, Russian, and Swahili in addition to having a working knowledge of French.