He's like John the Baptist: Museveni on Raila's AUC candidature

Speaking during the Piny Luo cultural festival in Siaya County, Museveni drew parallels between Raila and the biblical John the Baptist, highlighting their shared passion for speaking about their beliefs.

He explained that any ideology and policy that Raila will come up with ought to be supported by government officials should he clinch the seat. 

Museveni added that this would be the recipe for success if Raila takes over for the next four years. 

"We're supporting the candidature of Raila for AUC chairmanship. He will help us to do mobilisation and brainstorming but the real power is with us here," Museveni explained. 

"Those in power (senators, governors, MPs) can decide whether to move or not. For him he can talk, he's like a preacher, like John the Baptist."

The event was graced by President William Ruto, Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, Siaya Governor James Orengo and other leaders.

President Ruto also echoed Museveni's remarks by emphasising that Raila's victory would be a win for Africa. 

"Raila is not a candidate for Kenya, he is a candidate for East Africa. Before we rolled out his candidature, we went to Mzee Museveni and spoke to all East African heads of state and confirmed we have the right candidate with the right credentials to champion the unity, progress and success of Africa," Ruto said. 

"So far, we've seen enormous support for his candidature. We're confident that his credentials traverse many areas. His proven track record as a pan African is going to be of immense value to our region in matters of ensuring our region is peaceful, managing conflicts in our continent, building investments into the market of 1.4 billion people," he added.