The inclusion of Busoga King William Gabula Nadiope IV and two opposition politicians on the list of new ambassadors to foreign missions released Friday has drawn much public attention and scrutiny on President Museveni’s choices.
Former Jinja municipality mayor and DP national chairman, Mohammed Baswari Kezaala, and FDC’s Michael Ocula, who represented Kilak county in the 8th Parliament, made the list of appointees and became the latest opposition figures to join Museveni’s team.
They are also among the latest failed politicians to get government jobs. On the list, there are at least seven politicians who lost last year’s elections. The appointment of failed politicians has drawn harsh criticism from civil society organisations and many political commentators.
“Increasingly, we are steadily moving towards politically-appointed ambassadors. At a time when global politics seems to be very dynamic and sophisticated, we instead, as a country, should be looking more at seconding technical foreign service officers for ambassadorial roles, not political appointees,” Crispy Kaheru, the coordinator of Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU) said in a Friday email to The Observer.
According to Kaheru, the new appointments now bring up to over 70 per cent the number of political ambassadors without any background in diplomacy.
“This does not portend well for Uganda’s foreign policy. It takes a career diplomat about 18 years of technical service to rise to the level of ambassador. How would an 18-year experienced career diplomat compare with someone who has no experience in foreign service?” Kaheru wondered.
But Edith Sempala, who boasts a 20-year ambassadorial career, said in a Saturday interview that diplomacy does not necessarily require a person to be a career diplomat.
“Ambassadors should be people who know how to make friends and also influence people,” Sempala said. “That is why I look at Dr Crispus Kiyonga’s appointment to Beijing [China] as a good pick; I also think that Mull [Katende Sebujja] is a good choice for Washington. Being a career diplomat, he will try, although he is going to Washington when the Uganda–US relations are at their lowest,” Sempala added.
POLITICAL REJECTS
In his missive, Kaheru wonders how some of the appointees, who were rejected by their constituents, will protect Uganda’s interests abroad. Kiyonga, for instance, lost his cabinet job after losing his Bukonzo West parliamentary seat in last year’s elections.
The illustrious politician had held the seat since the 1980 elections. He had retired into farming and is currently the chairperson of a mango farmers’ association in Kasese, a district were NRM miserably lost to the opposition FDC.
Another political loser from Kasese is James Mbahimba who will replace former Katikamu North MP James Williams Kinobe at Uganda’s mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mbahimba represented Kasese municipality in the 9th Parliament but lost to FDC’s Robert Centenary in the 2016 parliamentary elections. Others are former ministers Rebecca Amuge Otengo (state for Northern Uganda) and Barbara Nekesa Oundo (state for Karamoja), in addition to Phoebe Otaala who lost her bid to join parliament as MP for West Budama South.
“It is not a matter of sending representative figureheads but, rather, professionals who, by virtue of their outstanding career qualities as people, can bring a contribution to diplomacy and to the mission that they are heading,” Kaheru opined.
DP youths reacted angrily to Kezaala’s appointment and asked him to immediately resign his position as national chairman of Uganda’s oldest political party.
Some unbelieving DP members thought instead that it’s Kezaala’s brother, Mohammed, the former ministry of Health permanent secretary, who had been named ambassador but the DP boss confirmed to journalists in Jinja that he was the appointee and promised to seek the approval of his party’s national council.
Presidential Press Secretary Don Wanyama told The Observer on Friday that the appointment does not mean Kezaala has joined the ruling party.
“Ambassadors are not politicians but civil servants and that means that there is a shift from his [Kezaala] political career,” Wanyama said.
Until his defeat in last year’s election to NRM’s Majid Batambuze, Kezaala had been the Jinja municipality mayor for at least 15 years.
The appointment of Kezaala and Ocula is seen by analysts as part of Museveni’s wider agenda to weaken the opposition by poaching from its ranks. But Sempala argued that such a policy may work against the country’s interests.
“Diplomacy is key to every nation [and], therefore, every nation should put thought in the appointments they make, especially to key partners. To politically appease is not a good criterion for picking people who represent you because they can make or unmake you,” reasoned Sempala, Uganda’s former ambassador to Washington.
KYABAZINGA APPOINTMENT
Kyabazinga Gabula Nadiope’s appointment as ambassador in the Office of the President in charge of special duties has already raised constitutional questions.
On Saturday, a group of four Busoga loyalists joined Justice Forum (JEEMA) president Asuman Basalirwa in pursuing litigation.
According to Basalirwa, the Kyabazinga’s appointment is in contravention of Article 246 of the Constitution and Section 12-13 of the Institution of Traditional or Cultural Leaders Act.
sadabkk@observer.ug