The government has dismissed the last-minute decision by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to endorse Madagascar’s African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship candidate, Richard Randriamandrato.
The directive, in a letter addressed to the trading bloc member countries on Wednesday, February 12, dented Kenya’s candidate Raila Odinga’s chances of clinching the seat in the vote slated for Saturday, February 15.
However, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei, who has been heading Raila’s campaign secretariat, said there is no cause for alarm, terming the directive as an afterthought.
"The SADC letter is something of an afterthought; we think that it is a mere courtesy to show the minimalist solidarity extended to a member of their region. To our minds, we do not think that it will have any bearing on Raila’s bid," said Sing'oei.Sing’oei said Kenya had received assurances of support for Raila’s candidature from a number of SADC countries.
Nevertheless, he said they will leave nothing to chance and will reach out to the SADC countries again to understand the motive of the letter and implore them to vote for Raila.
