Kenya’s President William Ruto has called for urgent and sweeping reforms of the African Union (AU), warning that the continental body is no longer capable of meeting Africa’s current and future needs.
Speaking at the Mashariki Cooperation Conference in Mombasa, where he addressed intelligence and security chiefs from across Africa, Ruto said he had been tasked by fellow heads of state to lead efforts to review and transform AU institutions.
He argued that the organisation must be fundamentally restructured if it is to effectively support Africa’s development ambitions and respond to emerging political, economic and security challenges.
“My colleagues, heads of state, gave me the assignment to work on the reform of the African Union institutions and organs to make them fit for purpose for a time such as this,” he said.
Ruto was more direct in his assessment of the bloc’s effectiveness, adding that the AU in its current form falls short of expectations.
“I can tell you without an iota of doubt that the African Union, as it is today, is not fit for purpose,” he said. “It is not fit to provide the leadership that this continent needs going into the future.”
He stressed the need for deep institutional reforms to reposition the AU as a more responsive and results-driven organisation capable of unlocking Africa’s economic and demographic potential.
Ruto also called on intelligence and security leaders to contribute ideas on how to reshape the AU to better serve the continent.
Africa, he warned, risks failing to harness its growing population and economic opportunities if reforms are not urgently implemented.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
