Political and economic interests in East Africa are driving
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga’s last-ditch efforts to court
allies in the region ahead of Kenya’s election on August 8.
Tanzania
has featured prominently in the ongoing campaigns, forcing Dar es
Salaam to distance itself from taking sides in an election billed as the
most competitive in the country’s history.
“The
attempts to link the peace-loving government of Tanzania with
involvement in its neighbours’ elections is a mistake beyond reality,” a
Tanzanian government spokesman said.
Tanzanian
opposition leader, Edward Lowassa, the man who ran against Tanzania’s
President John Magufuli in the 2015 election, muddied the waters when he
backed the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Two
weeks ago during a visit to Kenya, Mr Lowassa announced his support for
President Kenyatta, fuelling speculation that the Jubilee
administration had backed Lowassa’s bid to succeed retired president
Jakaya Kikwete in 2015.
Odinga-Magufuli ties
Mr
Odinga, who is contesting the presidency for a fourth time, enjoys a
cordial relationship with President Magufuli, leading to speculation
that the opposition is being backed by the Tanzanian government and has
installed a parallel tallying centre in Dar es Salaam.
The
cordial relationship between President Magufuli and Mr Odinga has been
demonstrated by several meetings between the two leaders during
alternate visits to Kenya and Tanzania.
In
April last year, Mr Odinga was among regional leaders who visited
President Magufuli at his rural home in Kilimani village in Geita
region, northwestern Tanzania.
This followed a visit to
Kenya by President Magufuli, who said his friendship with Mr Odinga
started back in 2002 when they both served as ministers for roads and
public works in their respective countries.
The
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has uncharacteristically remained
silent on the ongoing campaign compared with the past one in which he
openly supported President Kenyatta.
In fact, in 2013
Mr Odinga accused the Ugandan leader of backing President Kenyatta to
rig the election. The friendship between Museveni, the longest serving
president in the region, with the Jubilee administration came to the
fore in the run-up to Uganda’s elections last year.
While
attending the inauguration of President Kenyatta, the Ugandan leader
thanked Kenyans for having rejected Mr Odinga, who he referred to as a
friend of neo-colonialists.
According to Mr Odinga,
regional integration is at the centre of his plans to fulfil the dreams
of the founding leaders to fast-track movement of goods and people
across the borders.
“This region will benefit more if
we remove barriers which exist and open the borders for free flow of
goods and people. It can be done if there is political will,” Mr Odinga
said at a presidential debate.
According
to the opposition leader, the transport corridors are important to
trade in the region and need attention to promote regional integration
and business among EAC partner states.
“It is the
(Kenyan) leadership isolating itself. That is the reason Uganda is
finding it attractive to go through Tanzania. Tanga and Dar es Salaam
are farther from Kampala than Nairobi and Mombasa. It does not make
economic sense and appears no more than a political decision,” Mr Odinga
added.
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