Kenya’s quest to clinch the top seat of the Commonwealth secretariat has got a boost after the African Union backed Nairobi’s candidate, Dr Monica Juma.

Dr Juma, currently the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, is seeking to become the next Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 countries including the UK, its former colonies, Mozambique and Rwanda.

A statement from Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said the African Union’s backing signals support from the bloc that usually votes as a bloc.

“Amb Monica Juma (DPhil), Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Energy, was endorsed for election as Secretary General of the Commonwealth at elections to be held in June 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda,” the statement said.

The endorsement could boost Dr Juma’s quest to be the Secretary General, ahead of the twice-postponed Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that is to be held in Kigali in the week beginning June 20.

However, the final communique of the African Union General Assembly’s meeting last week in Addis Ababa did not mention it.

The African Union doesn’t have a vote but there are 19 members of the continental bloc who are also members of the Commonwealth.

If they pick the cue and vote as a bloc, it could likely also split the voting pattern seen in 2015 when Africa and the Caribbean united to vote for Patricia Scotland, the incumbent.

Dr Juma was first endorsed by President Uhuru Kenyatta last year, calling her “an exemplar of what we in the Commonwealth hold.”

In a brochure she released in September, Dr Juma said she wants to change the perception of the Commonwealth as an organisation whose need is the past.

“I intend to deliver an effective secretariat, driven by member states priorities that optimise and draw from the diverse advantages and potential Commonwealth,” she says in the pitch.

“The Secretariat that I will lead will work with all Member States to bolster unity of the Commonwealth family to deal with common challenges such as fight climate change, debt relief and recovery, promotion of fair trade and investment, transnational organised crimes innovations, pandemics and epidemics, among many others.”

The Secretary-General is the spokesperson of the ‘Club’, as the Commonwealth is usually referred to, and could often convince or discourage donors from supporting programmes it runs.

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kenyan-minister-ge...