NAIROBI: Four senior African politicians — from Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius — have thrown their hat into the ring to take over the African Union’s top post.
The pan-continental body, which has 55 member states, will hold elections at its summit in February to choose a successor to Moussa Faki Mahamat as chair of the African Union Commission.
This year the role is reserved for a representative from East Africa to replace Faki, a veteran politician from Chad who has served since 2017.
The African Union issued a statement listing the four candidates as Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti, Raila Odinga of Kenya, Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar and Anil Gayan of Mauritius.
“I am the only candidate capable of bridging the gap between the different regions of Africa, being French-speaking, but also English-speaking and Arabic-speaking,” said Djibouti’s Youssouf.
The 58-year-old has been foreign minister of the tiny but strategic Horn of Africa nation since 2005.
“My primary objective if I am elected is to silence the guns” on the continent, he told AFP in an interview last month.
His main rival is veteran Kenyan opposition leader Odinga, who at 79 has tried and failed five times to become president, most recently losing the 2022 election to William Ruto.
Odinga spent his early years in politics either in jail or in exile, fighting for democracy during the autocratic rule of president Daniel arap Moi.
“We are focused on bringing the seat home for Kenya and serving the African people,” Odinga said on X last month announcing his formal candidacy.
Gayan, 76, served as foreign minister of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius between 1983 and 1986 and again from 2000 to 2003 and has since held other posts including at the tourism and health ministries.
Randriamandrato was Madagascar’s foreign minister from March to October 2022 but was fired after voting at the United Nations to condemn Russia’s annexations of four Ukrainian regions.
Madagascar has followed a non-aligned position on the war in Ukraine.
The election is conducted by secret ballot, and the winner must secure a majority of two thirds of the vote among eligible member states.
The AU commission chair — effectively the body’s chief executive — serves a four-year term, renewable once.
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Four confirmed candidates for top African Union post
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Four confirmed candidates for top African Union post
South Korea: Civilians sent drones to North Korea four times, harming ties
SEOUL: South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on Wednesday that three civilians had sent drones to North Korea on four occasions since President Lee Jae Myung took office last year, harming inter-Korean ties.
The trio flew the aircraft between September 2025 and January, Chung said, citing an ongoing investigation by police and the military. Drones crashed on two occasions in North Korea, in line with claims made by Pyongyang, he said.
On two other attempts the drones returned to Paju, a border settlement in South Korea, after flying over Kaesong, a city in North Korea, Chung said.
South Korean authorities were investigating the three civilians on suspicion of violating the aviation safety act and breaching criminal law by benefiting the enemy, he said.
Some officials at South Korea’s military intelligence agency and the National Intelligence Service were also under investigation for alleged involvement with the trio, he said.
“We express official regret to the North,” Chung said, adding that the government was taking the drone incursion incidents very seriously.
North Korea has reacted angrily, saying last month that drones from South Korea entered its airspace, after another intrusion in September.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, urged Seoul to investigate the incident, warning provocations could result in “terrible situations.”
Chung also expressed regret over South Korea sending 18 drones to North Korea under the direction of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“It was an extremely dangerous incident aimed to induce an attack against South Korea by sending 18 drones on 11 occasions, to sensitive areas in North Korea including the airspace over the Workers’ Party office,” he said.
South Korean prosecutors have
indicted Yoon
, who was ousted in April 2025, on charges that include aiding an enemy state.
They accused him and his military commanders of ordering a covert drone operation into the North to raise tensions and justify his martial law decree.
Yoon denies wrongdoing.
South Korea’s government plans to strengthen penalties for sending drones to the North, Chung said, including up to a one-year jail term or a 10 million won ($6,928) fine.
A clause will also be added to South Korea’s inter-Korean relations development act to block actions that heighten tensions on the peninsula, he said.
The trio flew the aircraft between September 2025 and January, Chung said, citing an ongoing investigation by police and the military. Drones crashed on two occasions in North Korea, in line with claims made by Pyongyang, he said.
On two other attempts the drones returned to Paju, a border settlement in South Korea, after flying over Kaesong, a city in North Korea, Chung said.
South Korean authorities were investigating the three civilians on suspicion of violating the aviation safety act and breaching criminal law by benefiting the enemy, he said.
Some officials at South Korea’s military intelligence agency and the National Intelligence Service were also under investigation for alleged involvement with the trio, he said.
“We express official regret to the North,” Chung said, adding that the government was taking the drone incursion incidents very seriously.
North Korea has reacted angrily, saying last month that drones from South Korea entered its airspace, after another intrusion in September.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, urged Seoul to investigate the incident, warning provocations could result in “terrible situations.”
Chung also expressed regret over South Korea sending 18 drones to North Korea under the direction of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“It was an extremely dangerous incident aimed to induce an attack against South Korea by sending 18 drones on 11 occasions, to sensitive areas in North Korea including the airspace over the Workers’ Party office,” he said.
South Korean prosecutors have
indicted Yoon
, who was ousted in April 2025, on charges that include aiding an enemy state.
They accused him and his military commanders of ordering a covert drone operation into the North to raise tensions and justify his martial law decree.
Yoon denies wrongdoing.
South Korea’s government plans to strengthen penalties for sending drones to the North, Chung said, including up to a one-year jail term or a 10 million won ($6,928) fine.
A clause will also be added to South Korea’s inter-Korean relations development act to block actions that heighten tensions on the peninsula, he said.
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