Uganda has 35 diplomatic missions around the world, yet this is an area of the country’s governance structure that has not often featured in local news and debates.
Lately, however, the appointment of politicians who lost elections to diplomatic roles, as well as some gaffes by politicians-turned-diplomats have drawn attention to our diplomats. In this ground-breaking series, The Observer interviews former diplomats to tell their own stories of serving Uganda abroad.
In the maiden part of this series, Jerome Kule Bitswande talks to Ambassador EDITH GRACE SSEMPALA.
My name is Edith Grace Ssempala. I am a civil engineer by training, but I have never practiced it. I studied at Namutamba Demonstration School in Mityana district. I went to Gayaza high school for ordinary level and did advanced level at Nabumali high school in Mbale.
I finalised my studies at People’s Friendship University, as one of the seven lucky Ugandans that secured a government scholarship in Russia. You see, that is diversity.
In Uganda, I studied in Mityana, Kampala and Mbale. At that time, we had many great schools scattered around the country and one would just pursue an education, unbothered by which region of the country they are in. Meanwhile, students would also be assured of good grades, unlike today where you see good-performing schools only concentrated in one region.
I had a passion for sciences, particularly mathematics. I wanted to be an engineer, doctor or a pilot. Although very few girls did sciences then, I was determined.
I take this opportunity to encourage young girls not to be afraid of sciences, especially if they really want to pursue a career therein. Of course those who want to do arts should also be encouraged; whatever you do, make sure you do it well.
I went to Russia in 1973 to the People’s Friendship University, then commonly known as Lumumba University. I stayed there for six years until 1979, having completed my master’s degree in civil engineering. During my days at university, I was involved in gender activism.
I really loved Russia because of the diversity; we had people from all walks of life; Asians, Americans, Africans, etc. So, apart from the education, we met new people and that helped us in building networks that are important in a person’s life. After completing my studies in Russia, I went to visit friends in Sweden as I prepared to return to Uganda.
After Sweden, I called my brother and told him I would be returning home. But he advised me not to, arguing that the situation in Uganda was not safe. That was very disturbing. I really got confused and restless because that is the time Idi Amin had been overthrown.
I had only known that Uganda’s problem was Idi Amin. So, since he had been toppled, I wondered why the country was not safe. However, my brother insisted that I could not come back and he advised me to seek asylum and that is what I did.
JOINING POLITICS
During my stay in Sweden, I worked with a company called RIFA Electronics as a quality controller. In that time, I didn’t want to get involved in politics, although I wanted to come to Uganda so that I could practice my engineering at home.
However, later on I organized a fundraising drive to raise some money to help Ugandans; we gave it to the Swedish Red Cross which eventually wired it to the Ugandan Red Cross to help Ugandans that were being abused since abuse of human rights had reached its peak in Uganda.
So, eventually, I was elected to the executive committee of Uganda Human Rights Activists, an association we formed in Sweden to advocate for ending abuse of fundamental freedoms and to highlight the blatant abuse of people’s rights that was happening in Uganda.
Later on, I was approached by the NRA [National Resistance Army] political wing members, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda and Amama Mbabazi. They presented their agenda to us in Sweden and I loved what they were saying.
We then formed an NRM branch in Scandinavian countries which included Denmark, Norway and Sweden. So, I headed the Stockholm branch in Sweden. I was really working a lot because I was running around; I was a mother, wife, an activist and an employee at RIFA. So, I was extensively involved in doing diplomacy for the NRM when it was in the jungle.
BECOMING AMBASSADOR
Eventually, the NRM ascended to power. Two months later, I sought leave at work and I came to Uganda. Mbabazi, who had become my friend because of the struggle, came to pick me from the airport.
I vividly remember we moved in his small ramshackle car. Anyway, when I reached the airport, he passed me via the VIP lounge and introduced me as ambassador-designate to Sweden. I did not expect it but neither was I surprised. I had become popular among the NRM top circles, considering the work I had done for them in Sweden.
And that was it; we were involved in back-to-back seminars, trainings, meetings and so forth. Actually, the two months that I had thought were going to be vacation, I ended up working hard and engaging in serious deliberations on how we can make Uganda better. So, there I was, appointed ambassador to Sweden.
So, in June 1986, I went back to Europe, but this time as an ambassador. I couldn’t move to Sweden immediately because Uganda had its embassy in Denmark. That is where I stayed, although I often visited Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden.
DIPLOMATIC DUTIES
My job as a diplomat was basically to do public relations for Uganda because then we were only better known for “Amin the dictator”.
You see, when you are ambassador for a country like Uganda, you are [also] charged with dealing with the general image of Africa as a continent.
To the eyes of Europeans then, we were a people that abuse power; a people that, once [we] ascend to power, blatantly abuse human rights; a people incapable of governing ourselves; a people who are greedy and do not care about fellow citizens.
I was equipped with the NRM’s 10-point programme that I endeavoured to explain to these countries. Our 10-point programme was undisputedly a good concept but to some, this was only good in writing and we were never going to implement it.
I remember a time I went to Norway and met the chairperson of their parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and explained to her our objectives as a new government using our 10-point programme.
She looked at me, and Scandinavians are very honest people, and said: “I hear you, but I do not believe you. [Former president Dr Milton] Obote was a few years back in this very office, and he was also speaking the same language but look what he eventually turned out to be.”
But as an individual, I genuinely believed that the people who had assumed power in 1986 would put Uganda on the right course. Needless to say, there were those who believed in my message, and also those who did not believe initially but eventually realized that the NRM was making strides in making the country much better than they had found it.
Gross violations of human rights had been stopped and outlawed; the army had been disciplined. We were only then being faced with challenges related to institutions and systems because, surely, those take time to build yet we had taken over a country that was in limbo.
I remember meeting Amnesty International officials and they raised concerns about delays in court judgments, investigations, etc, and I agreed with them but I asked them to help us build our systems.
While Amnesty International told me it was not a funding agency, I insisted that they were better-placed to seek support for us from the Danish government. The first donations we got from DANIDA [Danish International Development Agency] in the field of human rights development resulted from the advocacy of Amnesty International.
Well, I continued spreading the gospel of our NRM 10-point programme. I really pushed for the Nordic countries to support our private sector because in that way, Uganda would be in position to stand on its own without international support, and also the other countries could end up gaining from the investment climate, thus strengthening the relationship.
By the time I left, Denmark had even established an embassy here; Sweden and Norway were on the way and have eventually established embassies here. Iceland later followed suit, and I was very surprised because it was a small country. Finland was also about to come on board by the time I left.
TRANSFER TO USA
In 1996, my minister at that time was Dr Rugunda. I remember he just called me and told me that I had been transferred to the US. I had only been to America once for a relative’s wedding and I really didn’t know what serving in the US would be like.
I then telephoned my would-be deputy to seek advice from him even when I was still in Copenhagen because I believed that since he had been in the US already, he was more knowledgeable. He bought me a Dale Carnegie book titled: How to win friends and influence people.
It was a fantastic book that I read keenly very fast and, surely, it also gave me another insight into how to make friends. The United States was a very fantastic place; the Americans were good people and they were always open to helping us and seeing us grow.
Two presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, came to Uganda, which was really approval of our developed relations as partners in development. What you should know is that while I did meet the presidents of the US, I had never discussed any issues concerning Uganda with them because I only met them on invitation for a dinner, especially on Christmas days.
So, that means the Americans themselves approved of us, and organized for their presidents to visit Uganda. Of course that was not by mistake; it was a sign that we were making deliberate public relations moves especially with the staffers.
In America, surely if you want to succeed, you do not bother yourself a lot with the politicians; you interest yourself with the staff who in most cases include front desk officers, secretaries, heads of department in charge of your country, assistant secretary of state for Africa, etc, because these are the people who really do the work.
TRANSFER TO ETHIOPIA
In 2006, I was transferred to Ethiopia and of course, by virtue of being in Addis Ababa, you are also ambassador to the African Union. And for me, that was the best appointment. I had not worked in Africa; so, my appointment in Africa was like a deployment home. As an African, I am a pan-Africanist. So, anything that develops Uganda and Africa, I will do it with all my heart.
I was happy that I was going to influence Africa from Africa. In Ethiopia, I was the first Ugandan ambassador to sit on the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, and I brought the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of Sudan on the table. Sudan and Egypt were not interested, but I still managed to table it for discussion and I am happy it came to pass.
In Ethiopia, I worked for only two years before I joined the World Bank.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
For the Nordic countries, I put Uganda on the map and brought support from them to Uganda, starting of course with relief aid, and support to the private sector. Not that we have benefited like we should, but the reasons why we have not benefitted enough are self-created. It is expensive to run an embassy and I can tell you these countries are selective when setting up an embassy.
So, that we have embassies for almost every country speaks volumes of how much I contributed in making Uganda friends with Scandinavian countries. [In the USA], Uganda became a household name in America; everyone was talking about us and, for me, that was like a dream come true. At a personal level, I really did not have any challenges.
Yes, we had issues with infrastructure, facilitation and so forth; but, for every challenge, I saw an opportunity therein. After two years in Ethiopia, I was happy that I had left working for government. Most people thought the government played a role in helping me get a job at the World Bank as
director external relations, but that was not true.
I surely attribute it to God, just like my other appointments in which I think God played a central role. I was blessed to leave the diplomatic service at the right time, before the human rights situation [in Uganda] became ugly, etc because I could not have continued to serve the government as is now.
Truth be told, I would decline the offer if I am appointed in the diplomatic service again. I don’t know how to lie. So, how would I tell, for example, a country like the US that we observe human rights yet I am well aware that things are to the contrary back home?
In 2015, I was lucky to be named by the UN Secretary General on the advisory group of experts on review of peace-building architecture. This was a review of the peace-building processes of the United Nations to help its organs understand and improve ways in which they promote peace. Our report is on their website.
APPOINTMENT OF DIPLOMATS
Ambassadors are the face of the nation out there; their appointment criterion is important and its integrity should lead to the appointment of people who can deliver, people who are self-motivated with the skills and passion to do the job, people with diplomatic and public relations skills, people who are credible, with integrity.
They should also know how to make friends and influence them; they should not just be sycophants to the regime but should have a vision for Uganda and understand that good relations must be mutually beneficial (win-win). It does not matter whether they are career diplomats or not.
I never studied diplomacy but I was successful as a diplomat. One other aspect is that ambassadors are marketers and a marketer only succeeds if he has a good product. If Uganda is still a product worth marketing, is a question for you to find out.
Diplomatic service deals with bi- lateral issues. First, Uganda needs to put her house in order, sort out the political issue – governance in general (democracy, rule of law, human rights, corruption, etc.)
Credible investors consider such issues when making decisions as to where they should put their money. Countries have to account to their taxpayers for the money they invest in other countries.
Otherwise, Uganda is a great country with many comparative advantages; our geographic location, climate, untapped natural resources, a young trained/trainable population and friendly people.
Once governance is sorted, we should focus on attracting investments to add value in agriculture, tourism and boosting the manufacturing sector. That will be good enough to give Uganda a new and better face in the eyes of the world.
jeromekulbits@gmail.com
Look out for another engaging interview in this series next Friday