During the 2022 campaign Ruto's team led by communication advisor Hussein Mohamed a former Citizen TV presenter known for softball interviews with ministers repeatedly accused the NMG and others of bias and giving more favourable coverage to his rival Raila Odinga...

After Raila Odinga accepted five ministerial seats in Ruto's cabinet last July his Orange Democratic Movement led in parliament by Junet Mohamed effectively became part of government...

Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf held off veteran Kenyan presidential candidate and dealmaker Raila Odinga to be elected as the next chair of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa on 15 February replacing Chad's Moussa Faki Mahamat (AC Vol 66 No 4 Pan-Africanism is on the ballot)...

Kenya's Raila Odinga is a big-name candidate who lacks the energy and administrative skills needed to run the AU civil service...

He has given several speeches many in church and at his Nyeri home and held rallies with the likes of Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and the National Rainbow Coalition-Kenya's Martha Karua both former running mates of Raila Odinga...

On a recent tour of Western Kenya Raila Odinga's stronghold Ruto declared with characteristic bravado that he would defeat his rivals ‘by early morning on voting day'...

Museveni was hosted by Ruto and Raila Odinga at a Luo community cultural event over Christmas and has been a prominent supporter of Odinga's bid to become chair of the African Union Commission in February...

But he advised former Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Raila Odinga...

Even Ruto's support for veteran oppositionist Raila Odinga to win the chair of the AU Commission owes something to his local priorities...

That's partly why Ruto wants to formalise his unofficial unity government with ex-opponent Raila Odinga winning his endorsement and that of the ODM party ahead of 2027 (AC Vol 65 No 16 Raila names his price)...