Tough task as Monica Juma seeks Commonwealth secretary-general’s post

Defence Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma has a huge task lobbying members of the Commonwealth to support her bid for the Secretary-General’s post.

Dr Juma, who won a gruelling contest for Kenya last year at the United Nations Security Council as Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary, will have to do it again, this time for the country and for herself.

On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta nominated Dr Juma as a contender for the chief executive post of the group of 54 countries, mainly comprising the United Kingdom and its former colonies.

The President said Dr Juma has an “indisputable track record of strategic leadership”, adding that she could use that to bring together and change the perception of the group that has largely been seen as a relic of the British Empire.

“She is an exemplar of what we in the Commonwealth hold,” the President told the country in a speech on Monday.

Her selection was unsurprising, given that besides being a veteran diplomat, she is an accomplished academic. Sources told the Nation that Dr Juma became an automatic choice after the other possible contender, Ms Amina Mohamed, was nominated for the World Trade Organization (WTO) head last year.

Diplomat

“Dr Juma is a new face with the required experience. It was also prudent that Kenya doesn’t appear to be desperate to push for one person,” said a diplomat familiar with the decision.

The first challenge is whether she can get the support of all the Commonwealth members. As a rule, the Club, as the Commonwealth is colloquially named, votes by consensus, so objection by one member means she cannot win the seat.

Yesterday, Dr Juma met several diplomats from the Commonwealth to pitch her candidacy. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which was to be held in Rwanda last year, has been delayed twice. Leaders are debating whether to hold a sidelines summit in Glasgow in November when countries meet for a UN climate conference.

Dr Juma says she will employ a three-pronged approach of commitment, connections and consensus to transform the Commonwealth to a dynamic, responsive and influential organisation.

“Believing that I have the expertise, experience, skills and competencies to move the Commonwealth Secretariat to the next level, I seek your support and endorsement at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit, to serve as the next Secretary-General,” she said at a press conference at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi.

“The Secretariat that I will lead will work with all member states to bolster unity of the Commonwealth family, deploy innovative ways of maintaining existing partnerships and forging new ones with critical stakeholders,” she added.

Re-election summit

Dr Juma is also a former Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti as well as the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Another challenge will be whether the incumbent Patricia Scotland will contest.

As CHOGM was delayed twice, she automatically got yearly extensions to her first term. In her first term, Africa and the Caribbean region voted as a bloc for her. Kenya was expected to side with the bloc for her second term last year.

Ms Scotland, a British barrister who became the first black Attorney-General of the UK, took office in 2016 and was expected to face a re-election summit in June 2020. However, due to Covid-19, the summit was postponed to June 2021, before it was put off again to next year. While she has not indicated whether she will run, there were indications some members were pushing for her to step down.

Yesterday, Dr Juma said the next Secretary-General must seal cracks among members so that the group can focus on resolving other challenges.

“I am convinced that sound management and administration must be matched with a top-notch grasp of technical challenges confronting member states, and is crucial to addressing the emerging, complex and dynamic issues that the Commonwealth is facing,” she said.

“I commit to champion the deepening of democratic values, especially in light of growing fragility that is accentuated by a range of risks and threats to governments and communities across the world,” said the CS.