This archive report was first published on 3 September 2021.
On Thursday, Kenya's Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i met with new President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia to lobby for support for Kenya's bid for the Commonwealth top job.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta had previously proposed Defence CS Monica Juma for the position of Commonwealth secretary general, marking the launch of Kenya's shuttle diplomacy among the 54 member states of the bloc.
Ms Juma, a career diplomat, will compete with British diplomat Patricia Scotland for the position, which is decided by consensus among the member states.
The Commonwealth, a bloc of 54 member states including the UK, its former colonies, and Rwanda and Mozambique, enjoys military, education, governance, sports, cultural, and geopolitical cooperation pacts.
Ms Scotland, who was born in Dominica and relocated to the UK, is still eligible for a second four-year term as Secretary General, although she has not clarified whether she will stand again.
Kenya and Zambia, both former British colonies, also belong to regional blocs such as the African Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).
