Mogadishu(Mogadishu24)-Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has canceled his participation in the official launch of Kenya’s candidate campaign for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson seat, scheduled for Tuesday in Nairobi.

The event, hosted by the Kenyan government, was expected to gather heads of state from five East African Community (EAC) countries, including Somalia.

State Minister for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Somalia, Ali Omar Mohamed ‘Balad’, explained the President’s absence, stating, “The President could not participate in this meeting due to his schedule.”

On the Kenyan side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the attendance of other regional leaders, including South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, who is the current Chairperson of the EAC, and the Presidents of Uganda and Tanzania, Yoweri Museveni and Samia Suluhu Hassan, respectively.

Somalia was initially a strong contender for the AUC seat, nominating former Foreign Minister Fawziya Yusuf Adam. However, Somalia later withdrew her candidacy in favor of supporting Djibouti’s candidate, Mahmoud Ali Yousuf.

Fawziya expressed her dissatisfaction with the government’s decision and subsequently announced her support for Kenya’s candidate, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, during a joint press conference in Nairobi earlier this month.

“I am delighted to announce my support for the Right Honourable Raila Odinga in his bid for Chair of the African Union Commission. I extend my heartfelt wishes for his success in this important endeavor,” Fawziya said on X.

Somalia, the newest member of the East African Community, joins Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania in the regional bloc. The race for the AUC leadership has attracted four veteran candidates from Djibouti, Kenya, Mauritius, and Madagascar.