Olara Otunnu, Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, has acknowledged that his long-standing disagreements with President Yoweri Museveni remain unresolved, even as Museveni’s government throws its weight behind his campaign.
Otunnu, who made his strongest bid for the UN’s top job in 1996 but lacked the backing of the Ugandan government, made the remarks while addressing journalists Tuesday at the Uganda Media Centre, where he was promoting his candidacy and manifesto. “We have areas of divergent views that he knows well, I know well,” Otunnu said. “We have discussed it, we have discussed it even recently.”
He went further, noting that Museveni himself has publicly admitted to blocking Otunnu’s UN ambitions in the past. Despite the disagreement, Otunnu framed his nomination as a moment of national maturity. “We have come together as Ugandans to support a common Ugandan project,” he said. “Not that the differences have disappeared, but we’ve been mature enough to say, yes, we continue discussing our differences, but we’re all Ugandans, and this is a project for Uganda, by Uganda.”
Otunnu met Museveni on Monday at State House Entebbe, where the president convened a meeting of ambassadors representing members of the United Nations Security Council. Museveni formally presented Ambassador Olara Otunnu as Uganda’s candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary-General. “I urged them to convey Uganda’s endorsement to their respective governments. Ambassador Otunnu has the experience, integrity, and diplomatic credentials to lead the UN,” Museveni posted on X.
A candidate going nowhere
Otunnu also pushed back against the notion that his candidacy is trailing after a disappointing showing in the first straw poll, where he secured only two votes. He attributed the result to a late start on the diplomatic circuit. “We have not been able to engage the electors. We have not been able to meet the delegations, go to their capitals, canvass for support,” he said, contrasting his campaign with those of rivals who have been campaigning “for a year and a half.”
Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s permanent representative to the United Nations and foreign affairs minister-designate, echoed that defence, rejecting the idea that the late entry has doomed the bid. “It’s actually not late,” Ayebare said, pointing to precedent. “In the past election of the Secretary-General, there are names that have come out late, including the current Secretary-General, António Guterres. He was the last one to bring in his candidacy.”
At the moment, Otunnu cannot travel to the United States to campaign like other candidates, who have been on the diplomatic circuit for months or even years. Ayebare said travel clearance from the US government for the team to travel to New York and engage member states was imminent. “I think by the end of this week, we will be in New York to engage the member states,” he said, adding that the first straw poll results should not be interpreted as a sign of entrenched opposition. “Every candidate got a negative vote from the people, so the race is wide open.”
Ayebare also dismissed suggestions that the Secretary-General’s post is “owed” to Latin America this cycle.”The only region that can claim not to have produced a Secretary-General is Eastern Europe,” he said. “That formula has been thrown up in the air.” Human rights are one of the key pillars of the UN’s work, and Uganda’s human rights record has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years.
Asked to comment on the country’s record, Otunnu pointed to his own history rather than that of the government. “I’ve been a fighter for human rights all my adult life,” he said, citing his role in pushing Uganda to support the creation of the International Criminal Court “when it wasn’t popular,” and his tenure as chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights. “If I become Secretary-General, I will continue to champion human rights… every person deserves to live a life of freedom and dignity.”-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
