EAC backs CS Amina bid for top AU post

Dennis Tarus

November 12, 2016 11:38 PM

East African Foreign Affairs Ministers on Saturday, endorsed their Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed’s bid to chair the African Union Commission.

In a closed door meeting at the Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi, all the East African Foreign Affairs ministers unanimously vowed to rally behind Mohammed in her ambitions to clinch the prestigious African job.

The ministers also vowed to lobby other African heads of state to back CS Mohamed’s candidature.

They have also directed the EAC secretariat to convey their decision to all African regional economic communities with the aim of soliciting their backing.

The meeting was attended by ministers from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

Shuttle diplomacy

The move comes after the CS accompanied Deputy President William Ruto on a whirlwind tour of West and North Africa aimed at consolidating the backing of other African countries for Mohamed’s bid.

The visit saw him visit Sierra Leone, Chad, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast, Algeria and Nigeria.

Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta formally launched CS Mohamed’s candidature to become the next African Union chairperson at a gathering of African diplomats at a colourful ceremony in State House, Nairobi.

CS Mohammed’s candidacy received a major boost last month as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) members endorsed her bid.

Dennis Tarus