Olara Otunnu and his unclear citizenship
Oct 09, 2007
THE <i>Weekly Observer</i> of September 27 carried an article about Olara Otunnu in which he declared that, “NRM can’t take away my citizenship.†He said the NRM had stripped him of his citizenship. In two very long interviews (<i>Weekly Observer</i>, September 22 and 27), Otunnu ranted agains
By Semakula Kiwanuka
THE Weekly Observer of September 27 carried an article about Olara Otunnu in which he declared that, “NRM can’t take away my citizenship.†He said the NRM had stripped him of his citizenship. In two very long interviews (Weekly Observer, September 22 and 27), Otunnu ranted against President Museveni and spared no dirty epithet in his verbal arsenal.
As regards his citizenship, here is the truth. From 1996 to 2003, I was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Uganda to the UN in New York. The then Secretary General, Boutros Boutros Ghali, sought a second term but two big powers were against him though he did not pull out of the race. The new aspirants included Olara Otunnu and Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian who was then the UN Undersecretary General for Peace Keeping Operations. There was Mr. Essay, a Minister in the Ivory Cost government.
By this time, Otunnu was already masquerading as an Ivorian. But that country preferred to support an authentic son and not Otunnu whose search for their citizenship was obviously bogus. It was clear then that Otunnu had renounced his Ugandan citizenship. Without a country to back him, and despite a spirited campaign by some newspapers in New York and his many claims such as that he was at Oxford with Tony Blair, Otunnu did not win.
After Kofi Annan had been elected Secretary General, Otunnu was appointed to a number of high-level positions within the UN System. The last was Undersecretary General for Children. In a press release from the UN Secretariat, Otunnu was at first described as a citizen of Uganda. But to our consternation, that press release was immediately withdrawn, obviously at the directive of Otunnu. A new press release described him as a citizen of the Ivory Coast.
Otunnu should therefore deceive no one that President Museveni or the NRM took away his citizenship. He voluntarily renounced Ugandan citizenship. He now realises that it has not benefited him.
No interest in his people
There are people from the North who danced on the graves of the innocent ones slaughtered by Kony. Following Otunnu's appointment as Undersecretary General for Children, everyone thought a great opportunity had come to help the children of Northern Uganda because their son was in charge. But Otunnu never even visited Uganda. He instead became a frequent visitor of the Sudan and the Khartoum Government which was backing Kony.
Otunnu should be challenged to list five projects for children which he pushed for the North when he held important UN jobs. Therefore, he should deceive no one that he loves the people of his sub-region. But he is a smart opportunist. That is why he is posing as a champion of the north, a region which never benefited from the enormous resources of the powerful offices he held at the UN.
Out of touch
Otunnu seems to suffer from prolonged exile and inability to understand that Uganda is changed, developing and growing without him. The repeated outbursts of invective abuses against President Museveni can no longer wash, except in Kony circles. For example, in the Weekly Observer of September 27, he purported to tell Ugandans about, President Museveni’s alleged horrendous record of genocide and plunder, gutting and destruction of state institutions. He has also been fed on the new cheap and worn out vocabulary such as land grab and land give-aways by President Museveni.
He will be shocked to learn that even in his homeland, few will buy that kind of talk. He is advised not to inflate his importance. Uganda has grown without you and it will continue to grow without you. Do not allow yourself to suffer the fate of those who learn nothing from history.
The writer is the Minister of State for Investment
THE Weekly Observer of September 27 carried an article about Olara Otunnu in which he declared that, “NRM can’t take away my citizenship.†He said the NRM had stripped him of his citizenship. In two very long interviews (Weekly Observer, September 22 and 27), Otunnu ranted against President Museveni and spared no dirty epithet in his verbal arsenal.
As regards his citizenship, here is the truth. From 1996 to 2003, I was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Uganda to the UN in New York. The then Secretary General, Boutros Boutros Ghali, sought a second term but two big powers were against him though he did not pull out of the race. The new aspirants included Olara Otunnu and Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian who was then the UN Undersecretary General for Peace Keeping Operations. There was Mr. Essay, a Minister in the Ivory Cost government.
By this time, Otunnu was already masquerading as an Ivorian. But that country preferred to support an authentic son and not Otunnu whose search for their citizenship was obviously bogus. It was clear then that Otunnu had renounced his Ugandan citizenship. Without a country to back him, and despite a spirited campaign by some newspapers in New York and his many claims such as that he was at Oxford with Tony Blair, Otunnu did not win.
After Kofi Annan had been elected Secretary General, Otunnu was appointed to a number of high-level positions within the UN System. The last was Undersecretary General for Children. In a press release from the UN Secretariat, Otunnu was at first described as a citizen of Uganda. But to our consternation, that press release was immediately withdrawn, obviously at the directive of Otunnu. A new press release described him as a citizen of the Ivory Coast.
Otunnu should therefore deceive no one that President Museveni or the NRM took away his citizenship. He voluntarily renounced Ugandan citizenship. He now realises that it has not benefited him.
No interest in his people
There are people from the North who danced on the graves of the innocent ones slaughtered by Kony. Following Otunnu's appointment as Undersecretary General for Children, everyone thought a great opportunity had come to help the children of Northern Uganda because their son was in charge. But Otunnu never even visited Uganda. He instead became a frequent visitor of the Sudan and the Khartoum Government which was backing Kony.
Otunnu should be challenged to list five projects for children which he pushed for the North when he held important UN jobs. Therefore, he should deceive no one that he loves the people of his sub-region. But he is a smart opportunist. That is why he is posing as a champion of the north, a region which never benefited from the enormous resources of the powerful offices he held at the UN.
Out of touch
Otunnu seems to suffer from prolonged exile and inability to understand that Uganda is changed, developing and growing without him. The repeated outbursts of invective abuses against President Museveni can no longer wash, except in Kony circles. For example, in the Weekly Observer of September 27, he purported to tell Ugandans about, President Museveni’s alleged horrendous record of genocide and plunder, gutting and destruction of state institutions. He has also been fed on the new cheap and worn out vocabulary such as land grab and land give-aways by President Museveni.
He will be shocked to learn that even in his homeland, few will buy that kind of talk. He is advised not to inflate his importance. Uganda has grown without you and it will continue to grow without you. Do not allow yourself to suffer the fate of those who learn nothing from history.
The writer is the Minister of State for Investment