IN a candid message following Donald Trump’s recent election win, Kenyan politician Raila Odinga emphasised that Africa has alternative alliances if Trump is uninterested in collaboration with the continent. Odinga, 79, who is among the contenders for the African Union (AU) Commission chair role in 2025, remarked, ‘If [Trump] wants to work with Africa as a friend, we will welcome him… If not, Africa has got other friends.’
Odinga’s comments, shared in an interview with AFP in Addis Ababa, highlight Africa’s growing relationships with countries like China, Russia, and Turkey, who have increasingly vied for influence across the continent. As AU leadership candidates campaign, Odinga is expected to face stiff competition from Djibouti’s long-serving Foreign Minister, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, along with other candidates, including Mauritius’s Anil Gayan and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato.
African leaders have largely extended congratulations to Trump, with memories lingering of his previous term’s disparaging remarks about certain African nations. Odinga, however, urged looking forward, saying, ‘That was Trump then; this is a new Trump. We want to see the one we are going to deal with.’
In Kenya, President William Ruto, a past political rival who has endorsed Odinga’s AU bid, spoke with Trump to discuss shared priorities such as trade, investment, and Kenya’s involvement in a UN mission in Haiti. For Odinga, this AU chair bid is his current priority, though he hasn’t ruled out another run for the Kenyan presidency in 2027.
The AU chair election is scheduled for February 2025, where candidates will be chosen by secret ballot during the annual summit.
