Opposition leader and the candidate of the African Union Commission Chairmanship Raila Odinga represented President William Ruto at the funeral service of the Malawian Vice President Saulos Chilima.
Raila was accompanied by two members of his AUC campaign secretariat; former Nyeri DG Catherine Karugu and former envoy Elkana Odembo.
In his speech, Raila expressed his condolences on behalf of Kenyans as well as President William Ruto.
“I come here with a very deep heart and I speak on behalf of the people of Kenya. First I want to convey my condolences on behalf of the President of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto,” the former prime minister said, adding that the continent had lost a young an promising leader whose visions transcended the country’s borders.
He further mentioned that Chilima’s death was similar with that of the Kenyan Chief of Defence Forces Francis Ogolla which happened two months ago.
“Mr. Chilima stood for the rights of the Malawi and wanted to ensure fairness in distribution of resources,” Odinga said.
At the same time, he slammed the Western countries “For impoverishing Africa through their activities” citing devastating effects of climate change and scramble for minerals that have left many many countries poor.
“Africans are bearing the brunt of climate change. I see that there has been drought in this part of Africa. In East Africa there has been floods. This is the effect of climate change for which Africa has contributed very little but is suffering the worst. Africa needs to unite and negotiate so that it can be compensated,” Odinga said.
He also called for fairness when it comes to Africa access resources from Western Countries.
“We are not asking for charity, we are asking for fairness in the international world markets. We want to see that Africans are able to add value to raw materials, and we are respected,” stated Raila.
