Uganda's sovereignty must be defended at all costs

Dr Nsaba Buturo

Recently, one of the dailies carried a front page headline: “EU diplomat attacks Museveni over graft”.  

It reported that the European Union (EU) chief envoy to Uganda had “punched holes in President Museveni’s State-of-the-Nation Address, saying it ignored key issues of media siege and succession” and that it “was not as wide ranging”. A week later after the reading of the national budget, the same diplomat was at it again engaging the media to critique the budget!  Many readers felt this was too deep and bizarre diplomatic meddling in Uganda’s affairs.  

They wondered whether his behaviour was borne of a failure to remember that Uganda is no longer a colony. This reminded one how over the years, some diplomats have made it a habit of publically making statements concerning government’s policy, political and governance direction as well as performance.

Diplomats around the world have roles and limitations that are associated with their work.  Their standard roles revolve around representation and protection of interests and nationals of their countries as well as promotion of information and friendly relations with host countries.  

One of the limitations is that they must never indulge themselves in governance affairs of their host countries.  Any indulgence would be an abnormality, a folly and unbecoming.  A well recognised practice is that whenever their countries have strong views about some matters in host countries, they engage host governments through a ministry that is responsible for handling foreign relations and not the media!

Diplomats who act outside these standards lack diplomatic decorum.  By so doing, they misrepresent their nationals many of whom expect them to respect the sovereignty of host countries.  A diplomat who commits abuses such as the one under reference reminds one of a person who comes to your home and donates, say, a bunch of matooke to your family.  After the donation of the same, he wants to show you how to peel, cook and serve the same!  And if you do not do it his way, he publicly chastises you!

For some time, our media has encouraged wayward conduct by some diplomats who are accredited to Uganda.  Sections of our political class, too, have weighed in to support such undiplomatic conduct.  They have done so to win ‘favours’ and also embarrass the elected government of Uganda.  This has often led overzealous diplomats to want to meddle in our internal affairs.  Ugandans who have patiently watched these shenanigans would be excused to think that such diplomats are an integral part of the management team of Uganda’s affairs!

Regrettably, repeated diplomatic misconduct can engender confusion in minds of Ugandans some of whom may come to believe that, after all, Uganda is not really free.  It raises issues that concern relevance of diplomatic practices, Uganda’s sovereignty, Ugandans’ willingness to defend their country’s integrity and a colonial past we would rather forget.  

This is what is at stake when foreign diplomats seek to create for themselves a niche in governance affairs of this beautiful and rich Uganda.  It is as well that the Government recently summoned the EU ambassador to protest the latter’s undiplomatic and irregular conduct.  

Diplomats who confuse their well known functions with those that are a preserve of the sovereign state of Uganda must be brought to order. Such conduct would not be tolerated if Uganda’s ambassadors to United States of America and EU member states conducted themselves undiplomatically in their host countries.  Rightly, they would be shown exit within 24 hours!

Fellow Ugandans, Uganda’s sovereignty must be defended at all costs irrespective of our internal political differences.  Civil society organizations, the media and political leaders should never be seen to encourage abuse of our sovereignty.  Instead, they should put Uganda’s interests before their expectations for favors.  Undiplomatic conduct amounts to abuse of office.  It smacks of derogatory and condescending attitude that is harmful to mutual diplomatic relations.  It must be resisted!  Government has made us proud!
 

Dr Nsaba Buturo

The writer is the ED – Coalition for the Advancement of Moral Values, East Africa