By Annet Nanfuuma
Thank you for the Mulengera initiative. To my mind, it’s a timely intervention filling a certain information gap that has been existing. I’m a regular reader and follower of Mulengera news website. However, there is something you recently published that shouldn’t go unrebutted. Under the story entitled “CHAOS AT FOREIGN AFFAIRS AS ADONIA AYEBARE OPENS WAR ON SAM KUTESA,” a false impression was created and, being a graduate level international relations student, who has always closely followed the goings-on in our foreign diplomacy sector I feel compelled to set the record straight if you will grant me chance to do so. As part of my training, I have done research regarding our foreign relations as Uganda and consequently come to deepen my understanding of the men and women who always work hard to make sure that as Uganda we remain up there. I’m also knowledgeable about the cordial relationship and collegiality existing between those different officers. To people like myself who interest themselves to know, perhaps because of my training, some of these are more/less public secrets.
MY POINT:
First of all, a father-son relationship has always existed between Minister Sam Kutesa and Ambassador Adonia Ayebare. The latter has always looked up to the former for inspiration and mentoring. So for Mulengera to report existence of a feud between them is really anomalous to say the least. Especially since Ayebare became Uganda’s PR (Permanent Representative) at the UN barely one year ago, the two have inevitably worked together very closely. They actually have no choice because one supervises the other. That is procedural; that’s protocol. And most importantly, Ayebare is one of the Diplomats with whose output Hon. Sam Kutesa (as their supervisor) must certainly be very proud of. He has done such a fantastic job making many stakeholders satisfied with our representation in New York. Speaker Rebecca Kadaga was sometime back hosted at the NY Mission and said as much paying glowing tribute to Adonia for his progress leadership. In fact the bribery allegations you referred about is one area where, out of duty, the New York Mission has worked very hard on to ensure detractors always out to get Uganda don’t get their way. All this effort is being coordinated, spearheaded and overseen by none other than Ambassador Adonia Ayebare whose natural liking and respect for SK (Sam Kutesa) is well known. So it beats my understanding for my favorite Mulengera news website to write so imaginatively about these two top official’s warm relationship.
WORK HAS BEEN DONE:
In fact consequent to that good relationship between the Ministry Headquarters in Kampala and the team in New York (and more importantly between the Minister Hon Sam Kutesa & Ambassador Adonia Ayebare), a lot has been accomplished in the last one year. Actually Ambassador Adonia Ayebare became PR just May last year making him less than one year in office but a lot has been registered. Progress has been made and all well-intentioned Ugandans, Mulengera inclusive, must work towards consolidation as Ambassador Adonia Ayebare cruises towards making one year in office in New York which is one of our most important Missions. The following has been accomplished under Ambassador Ayebare’s leadership which is further testimony to the vitality of the New York Mission. In September last year, barely 4 months after Ayebare became PR, H/E the President had a very successful tour of the UN General Assembly. While in New York, the H/E had lunch with President Donald Trump and was in fact one of the only 9 African Presidents invited for this lunch date with the leader of the most powerful nation on planet. These are things many of us the ordinary people take for granted but in actual sense it takes competence on the part of the country’s delegation at the UN to have them accomplished. Remember we have so many countries whose presidents are equally entitled to have such audience but effective lobbying by Adonia and team ensured our dear leader President Museveni was among those previledged few. Mulengera may take this for granted but it takes hard work, networking and commitment to pull off some of these things. And there is no way the PR can pull it off unless he works closely well with the Minister who ultimately is his political supervisor. The other very important meeting the President had while in New York for UNGA was with the Canadian Prime Minister who, despite being very busy, couldn’t fail having audience with an African leader rated so importantly and highly. The confidence that was clearly exhibited by big world leaders in our President partly explains the successes registered at the big investment conference he subsequently had as part of his itinerary in New York that September. Mulengera news may overlook some of these things, but the truth is there is no way our President could have had all these high level and very important engagements during such a very busy period in New York without a coherent prudent leadership at our NY Mission. That coherence ofcourse is complimented by a very supportive Minister SK.
UN SECRETARY GENERAL:
And yet it’s difficult to discuss and sufficiently understand Ambassador Adonia Ayebare’s easily noticeable leadership qualities without referring to the current UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He is very appreciative of the prudence with which Adonia goes about his duties and being the open-minded leader he is, Antonio has publicly confessed as much. He recently casually told The H/E President Museveni in Addis Ababa that: “Your Ambassador [meaning Ayebare] is a good one. In fact he is one of the very best we have in New York.” This maybe news to Mulengera but not so to many in the diplomatic circles because Antonio always speaks frankly and openly. He didn’t need a secret meeting with the H/E to confess his admiration for Adonia’s prudent leadership of the Uganda Mission in NY. He speaks publicly and he did on this occasion in Addis. I hope Mulengera won’t say he was compromised. The truth is that Adonia has been around long enough and love or hate him, the guy knows his stuff. It was under the same Adonia’s tenure as PR that the UN Secretary General Antonio made his maiden visit to Uganda last year. This was shortly after Adonia had taken office as Head of our NY Mission. The UN Chief was here for the refugee Conference from which Uganda reaped many dividends. Our country got good publicity as the global media focused on us and our President’s global ratings as a large-hearted leader consolidated. This is good not just for Adonia but for every Ugandan. While in Kampala, the UN Chief championed a fundraising drive during which a whopping $300m was raised to support Uganda’s efforts to host refugees. Many may not know this; but the UN Chief doesn’t just wake up on the right side of the bed and says ‘I’m going to Uganda.’ It takes hard work, lobbying and rationalization and the contact person for Uganda to accomplish all this has to naturally be the Permanent Representative at the UN who is none other than Adonia.
THE ICC SLOT:
Only recently, still under Adonia’s tenure, our own Justice Solome Bbosa was elected to the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was a tough race, whereby you had 193 State Parties with varied interests, but the vastness of the Ugandan diplomatic network at the UN (where Adonia Ayebare is in charge) enabled Justice Bbosa overcome strong competitors from all places Ghana, Italy and Uruguay. This was the second time that Ambassador Adonia Ayebare, whose prowess Mulengera doesn’t seem to recognize, was spearheading a campaign for Uganda to produce an internationally-deployed Judge. In fact, long before even it became clear who our candidate would be, Adonia had consulted with authorities in Kampala and started campaigning for the ICC slot. This was at a time he was the Acting PR after Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda had finished his tour of duty (as PR) and left NY. Yet that isn’t all. Adonia has twice actively, meaningfully and impactfully participated in the very difficult but successful campaigns of Justice Julia Sebutinde, another illustrious daughter of Uganda currently serving her 2nd term at International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Ugandan team, coordinated by Adonia, had to overcome an incumbent from Sierra Leone to secure the ICJ slot for Sebutinde. Notwithstanding inadvertent mistakes by the likes of Mulengera news website, these are accomplishments we must all be proud of as Ugandans. And for his outstanding contribution, our son Adonia deserves commendation and not condemnation. Popular upcoming platforms like Mulengera news website must be used to harness this mindset in our people without distortions. Biblical scholars rightly observe that the prophet has got honor except in his own village. Reflecting on Mulengera’s past article (referred to above), this seems to be the case with Ambassador Adonia Ayebare if last week events relating to the dinner the US Permanent Representative to the UN Nikki Haley hosted recently in NY is anything to go by. In NY are 193 Ambassadors representing the various UN States but our own Adonia Ayebare was among the mere 10 Ambassadors Nikki Haley invited to her very high level dinner with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. This shows how well rated our own Adonia Ayebare is in NY. He is a well polished, decent and very dependable guy. And accomplishing all this in just less than one year is indicative of many more great things our country Uganda is yet to accomplish under Ambassador Adonia Ayebare’s leadership of our Mission in NY. The writer is a Ugandan lawyer with a bias on international law and diplomatic practices at the UN. She is reachable on 0784372197!
