UGANDA: NORTHERN UGANDA IS EXCITED FOR THE NOMINATION OF AMB OLARA OTUNNU UN TOP JOB

“One other thing, Amb Olara Otunnu, he deserved the UN Secretary General top job; he is a dependable person, he is an upright person. He does not have segregation; he has the human heart of all races; he has also been in the UN for some time.”

GULU CITY-MONDAY JULY 27,2026.

By Okumu Livingstone Langol, (Uganda

Actually, Ugandans welcome the nomination of Amb. Dr John Grace Olara Otunnu for the position of UN Secretary-General; he is the best candidate among the nominees, as President Museveni appended his signature to the former Diplomat and former UN Under-Secretary-General.

Okello Kenneth, Gulu District Speaker, argued that in the 1990s Amb Olara Otunnu was also nominated through the support of Ivory Coast, but when you look at Amb Olara Otunnu now that is the best person among those who have been nominated for the UN top.

Kamanyire Ibrahim, also excited about Amb Olara Otunnu who being supported Uganda Government, who is a Diplomat; he has integrity. We are all praying for him. Amb Olara Otunnu should get the UN Secretary-General. That is good; at least Uganda will get some benefit if Amb Olara Otunnu is there. Ugandans can get some benefit out of it.

Uganda has officially nominated veteran diplomat and former United Nations Under-Secretary-General Ambassador Olara Otunnu for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Olyech Kitara, the former Don of Gulu University, added his voice, says for one other thing is that he is a person who is dependable.

Amb Olara Otunnu getting UN SG position, he can do better in the UN job, which is not full of intricacy, manipulation and segregation (cheap politics)

“Amb Olara Otunnu is an upright person; he does not have segregation; he has a human heart for all the races. Above all, he has also been in the UN for some time.” Olyech Kitara argued.

Okello David, a boda boda in Gulu City, commented on being nominated by Uganda for the top UN job, eni pe rac, literally, that is not bad.

Kilibi Kitara, Gulu District Tourist Officer and Simon Ojera say we need a prize for Amb Olara Otunnu being nominated and supported by Uganda government for the UN SG top job position.

Burlington P’Ongwech, the Councilor for Gulu District, argued for the president Museveni to nominate Amb Dr. Olara Otunnu. First of all, I am pleased with the nomination of Amb Olara Otunnu.

First, I want to thank president Museveni for not only seeing the brilliance in Amb Olara Otunnu, but also seeing his national and international relations.

“I want to thank President Museveni for the first time for not seeing only people in his NRM party, but seeing Ugandans as the most important who will represent Uganda internationally. This, for me, is the greatest reward for Acholi for unanimously voting for President Museveni on January 15, 2026; that is what we are waiting for,” Burlington P’ Ongwech stressed.

Rackara Christopher Oruka, social political Activist argued, first of all I really first want to thank President Museveni ever since he has been in power for the last 40 years. I have been following up his track record in power; he has never endorsed any Acholi person for the UN job.

Rackara Oruka wondered what made President Museveni nominate Amb Olara Otunnu for the UN SG top job when in the 1990s he was the one who blocked his UN SG candidature, frustrated him because he was supported by Ivory Coast.

“I call up this UN SG job that needs lobbying for Amb. Olara Otunnu; he needs to move around the world, as you see the nominees, most of them come from South America. When you look at Amb Olara Otunnu, he is the best for Uganda.

Wokorach Simon, A journalist in Northern Uganda Media Club, made an attribution that Amb Olara Otunnu’s roles have been for peacebuilding; that is why Uganda government supported the UN top Job.

“President Museveni has been following Amb Olara Otunnu, and found out that Amb Olara Otunnu is a peace builder”, Simon Wokorach stressed.

Minister of Foreign Affairs disclosed that Ambassador Olara Otunnu’s candidature has been formally submitted, describing him as a distinguished statesman with more than four decades of serve in international diplomacy, government, academia and civil society.

Who is Amb Olara Otunnu?

Amb Olara Otunnu previously served as the UN Under-Secretary-General and the first Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict between 1998 and 2005. During his tenure, he successfully pushed for the protection of children affected by war to become a priority on the UN Security Council’s agenda and helped establish the monitoring and compliance mechanism under Security Council Resolution 1613, which remains in force.

He served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1980 to 1985. While serving as president of the UN Security Council in December 198, he introduced the straw-ballot voting system for electing the UN SG, a process that later became known as the “Otunnu formula” and continues to guide the selection process.

At the national level, Otunnu served as Uganda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1986 and was a member of the Uganda National Consultative Council during the country’s transition following the fall of the Idi Amin regime.

Other obligations: he led the International Peace Academy, now the International Peace Institute, between 1990 and 1998 and has held academic appointments at Albany Law School, the American University in Paris and the Institut Français de Relations Internationales.

He also received several international honors including the Sydney Peace Prize, the German Africa Prize and the Harvard Law School Alumni Association Award. In recent years, he has co-led the Rocco Paco peacebuilding initiative alongside Emeritus Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny Dollo Chigamio to support reconciliation and peace recovery in Northern Uganda.

According to the government, Otunnu’s experience across the UN system, national government, academia and grassroots peacebuilding makes him well suited to lead the organization at a time of growing global challenges.

The term of the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, ends on 31 December 2026. Uganda has called on UN Member States to support Ambassador Otunnu’s candidature.