Kenyan President William Ruto has called for sweeping reform of the African Union, saying the bloc in its current form cannot provide the leadership the continent needs going forward, according to a report by Guardian Nigeria. Ruto said fellow African heads of state had tasked him with leading a review of the AU's institutions and organs, and did not soften his assessment of where things currently stand. "I can tell you without an iota of doubt that the African Union at this day is not fit for purpose," he said. "It is not fit to provide the leadership that this continent needs going into the future."
Ruto pointed to slow decision-making, weak coordination between AU organs, and what he described as institutional inertia as the core problems undermining the bloc's ability to respond to the continent's mounting political, security and economic challenges. He argued that without structural change, those shortcomings will keep limiting how effectively the AU can act when crises actually unfold.
Analysts following the remarks say they reflect a broader frustration building among African leaders over how the AU has handled recent flashpoints, including a string of military coups, democratic backsliding in several member states, and persistent insecurity in regions such as the Sahel and Sudan. Ruto's reform mandate puts him at the center of what is likely to be a contentious debate over how much authority, and funding, the AU's central institutions should actually hold relative to its member states.