Odinga and Kenya’s High Commissioner to UK Manoah Esipisu. Photo/COURTESY.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 2- NASA leader Raila Odinga arrived in London Sunday for a 4- day visit to the United Kingdom where he is scheduled to speak at the Chatham House on the Legacy of former UN Secretary General the late Dr. Kofi Annan.
The Ghanaian was also a Nobel Peace Prize winner died in August 2018 aged 80, He was undergoing treatment in Switzerland.
Annan served as the seventh UN Secretary-General, from 1997 to 2006.
Raila’s invitation to speak about Annan’s legacy is largely due to the mediation role he played in Kenya during the 2007 disputed presidential election won by Mwai Kibaki and which was contested by Odinga.
Kibaki and Odinga later agreed to share power after successful mediation efforts led by Annan, but not after more than 1300 people were killed in the country’s worst political dispute that threatened to divide the country.
In a statement, the Kofi Annan Foundation hailed him as a global statesman, who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world.
“It is with immense sadness that the Annan family and the Kofi Annan Foundation announce that Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, passed away peacefully on Saturday 18th August after a short illness…,” read a section of the statement.
After his visit to the UK, Odinga will travel to St. Petersburg, Russia for the St. Petersburg Economic Conference at the invitation of the Russian government.
He will address sessions on Global Energy Sector Challenges and Opportunities, the Russia-Africa Business Dialogue focusing on Investment and Trade and Building a Network of High-Quality Roads.
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