Questions abound as Raila begins one-week tour of France, UK

CORD leader Raila Odinga left the country Sunday morning for a one-week tour of France and the United Kingdom.

Among the key meetings lined up during Raila’s visit is a special meeting of the Emerging Markets Forum in Paris which runs from April 11 to 12, 2016.

The forum will be hosted by the Governor of Banque de France and will be attended by four EMF co-Chairs; Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, former Germany President Horst Koehler, former IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus and Hiroshi Watanabe.

The forum’s theme will be ‘Striving for a Just, Prosperous and Harmonious Global Community’.

From France, Raila will travel to the UK to participate in the Al Jazeera TV Head-to-Head program at the Oxford Union.

The program offers a one-on-one interview in a robust exchange with the host alongside a panel of other guests.

Among the discussion that will feature in the meeting include the upcoming elections, the 2007 post-election violence and issues of justice, Raila’s record during his time in office and the perpetuate issue of corruption.

The visit comes barely a week after Odinga’s three-day visit in Tanzania, a trip that aroused disgruntlement within CORD leadership since it coincided with the launch of co-principal Moses Wetangula’s presidential bid.

The trip also comes hot on the heels of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit of France last Monday where he held bilateral talks with President François Hollande.

Last month the ODM leader was a key speaker during the launch of the African Presidential Center Mpumangala University in South Africa.

Political pundits attribute the increased travels by Raila to his desire to consolidate international support ahead of the 2017 elections.

Notably, the CORD leader has been on the forefront in criticizing President Uhuru Kenyatta over his increased travels claiming that the high delegations that accompany him to the trips are unnecessarily burdening to the taxpayer.

Though Raila’s trips have no apparent dependence on Kenyans’ taxes, they have elicited debate over the CORD leader’s political end game.

Among the questions being raised are; who funds the CORD leader’s foreign trips, the political significance of the trips and whether, the fact that some of them occur just after President Kenyatta’s visit, is a coincidence or premeditated.

According to ODM Director of Strategy Wafula Buke, Raila Odinga is a person on demand who is held in high esteem within the continent and beyond.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Buke clarified that Raila’s trips are either self-funded or funded by his hosts saying there should be no need for speculations over the same.

“The number of invitations that Raila Odinga gets to speak at various events in the world are overwhelming and we have, in several occasions, been forced to cancel some of them because of his busy schedule,” said Buke.

He added that Raila’s political know-how and experience in African politics places him above others in the continent.

@benjaminwafula