Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has finally broken the silence following her defeat in the race for the Africa Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson's post.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday in Ethiopia, Ms Mohamed stated that the loss was a great lesson for her, adding that she would be going on with her job as Foreign Affairs Minister.
She, however, expressed disappointment over the fact that the defeat was partly due to abandonment by neighbouring countries that had earlier pledged support.
The CS described the outcome of the elections held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as a huge disappointment adding that "we have to interrogate why our neighbours didn't stand with us but there is more than becoming AU chair".
Ms Mohamed highlighted that it was saddening that Africa was divided along language lines, a fact that experts had cited as a hurdle the Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister would face in the elections.
Among the countries said to have abandoned the Kenyan candidate at the last minute were Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
In the first round, Mohammed was leading with 16 votes while Chad Foreign Affairs Minister Mousa Faki Mahamat had 14 votes. In the same round, Botswana's Dr Pelonomi Moitoi and Senegal's Foreign Affairs Minister Bathily Abdoulaye both garnered 10 votes,
In round two, Ms Mohammed scored 17 votes against Chad's candidate who managed 24 votes. Senegal and Botswana scored eight votes each.
During the third round, it was a battle between Mohammed and Chad. Amina scored 26 beating Chad's candidate by one vote. This forced the Heads of State and Government to proceed to round four where Chad scored 28 votes against Kenya's 25. There was one abstention.
In round six, Chad maintained 28 against Kenya's 25. This is after Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda abstained.
In the seventh round, 15 Heads of State and Government abstained, giving Chad an unassailable lead of 38 votes.
