Kampala, Uganda | URN | Former Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo Chigamoi has called on Ugandans to support former United Nations Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu’s bid to become the next UN Secretary-General, urging them to disregard criticism directed at his candidacy. Owiny-Dollo described the negative comments surrounding Otunnu’s candidature as publicity that …
Read More »Otunnu impresses, discusses UN reform, conflict resolution and AI
ANALYSIS | URN | Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, Ambassador Olara Otunnu, has called for sweeping reforms of the world body, stronger intervention in armed conflicts and greater efforts to ensure emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence benefit all of humanity. Otunnu made the case for his candidacy on …
Read More »Why Otunnu is UN’s best bet for this moment
COMMENT | CRISPIN KAHERU | Anyone who watched Olara Otunnu face the UN General Assembly in this week’s interactive dialogue saw something different in modern diplomacy. He answered hard questions without notes, without hedging, and without losing his composure, meeting probing queries from ambassadors with clarity and, occasionally, his characteristic …
Read More »The Otunnu formula comes full circle
The Ugandan who helped shape the UN’s succession game now wants to win it Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | There is a delicious piece of irony in Olara Otunnu’s surprising bid to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Ugandan diplomat is now preparing to campaign …
Read More »Ugandans, time and Otunnu!
The Republic of Snooze COMMENT | MARK MAGOOLA | “I am about to reach just ka jam here, here. Yiyi, natusedaa…” Meanwhile, the man is still in the shower. And if it is a she, worse. She is in bed; remember she needs another hour to put on …
Read More »Olara Otunnu: Uganda’s 30-year-late gamble for UN top job
After three decades of waiting, Uganda has finally put its weight behind the man it once might have backed when his moment was at its brightest COVERY STORY | RONALD MUSOKE | On Saturday, Aug. 8, Olara Otunnu boarded a plane to the United States, headed for New York …
Read More »Otunnu says rift with Museveni persists despite backing for UN top job
Kampala, Uganda | URN | 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 …
Read More »Afghans in Uganda
Why Museveni accepted them, and the risks Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | On Aug. 17, Ugandans woke up to the news that the government had agreed to temporarily host about 2,000 Afghan refugees following a request from the U.S government. Until then, many Ugandans had known about the …
Read More »Money fuels fights within Opposition
Why Mao, Besigye, Bobi Wine cannot work together Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Of all declared candidates for the 2021 presidential election, Norbert Mao appears to be crafting the most interesting strategy so far. The President General of the Democratic Party (DP) has for over two years been engaged …
Read More »Court rules that UPC’s Otunnu did not defame President Museveni
Buganda Road Court grade one magistrate Joan Aciro has cleared former UPC Party President Olara Otunnu on charges of defaming President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, due lack of evidence. The Magistrate observed on Friday that prosecution produced a single witness who could not implicate Otunnu to this crime, without being collaborated. Last …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price