Fresh details have emerged on United Nations (UN) plan to shift its base from Entebbe (Uganda) in favour of Nairobi (Kenya), a move that has angered many Ugandans.
On 1st May 2018, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Gueterez wrote to the UN Advisory Committee recommending that the UN should remove its base from Entebbe to Nairobi.
The issue was on Tuesday brought to the floor of Parliament as a matter of national importance. It was revealed that Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa is one reason why Uganda could lose the base to Kenya.
John Baptist Nambeshe, the MP for Manjiya County said any patriotic Ugandan should pray that this facility is retained.
He said UN is shifting the base to Nairobi to save about USD11.3M.
“But secondly, it is about the travel advisory that was slapped on our Foreign Affairs Minister (Sam Kutesa) while his counterpart in Kenya (Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Macharia Kamau) is aggressively lobbying in the US. He can move allover [yet] ours can’t access those headquarters all over the world; ours can’t access those headquarters to seek an amicable resolution of this problem,” Nambeshe said.
The alleged travel ban is linked to Kutesa’s corruption allegations.
Aruu South Legislator Samuel Odonga Otto spiced up the debate, noting that: “We have information that there is a pending arrest warrant on Kutesa in all the capitals of Europe. I am not surprised that he is Cairo; he is just resting around Africa. We want to be told if the Minister of Foreign Affairs is free to move around the world. We want to be told because we might be dealing with someone who is handicapped so that in our resolution we can say if you don’t want him, we can give you somebody else. So this information has to come out clearly, so we hand him over.”
Theodore Ssekikubo, the Lwemiyaga County MP said Uganda losing UN base at Entebbe in favour of Nairobi means loss of over 400 direct jobs.
“But there are others benefitting from the base at Entebbe with over USD11m (spent in Uganda) annually,” he said, adding: “We shall be losing because Entebbe is the only regional and continental base here in the region.”
He added: “This matter affects all Ugandans and that is why we can put aside our differences and see how we can solve this important life line. Uganda is contributing greatly to the African cause; we have the biggest number of troops in Somalia, South Sudan. The only way Uganda can be rewarded is to maintain this (base). I hope Kenya shouldn’t beat us at all sides, this is a national cause.”
He added that the entire Kenyan government is in full support to take away the base.
“I don’t see a serious robust response from the [Ugandan] Government. The UN is soon going to take a vote, but we want to know from Government, what concrete steps has the Government taken to counter Kenya’s maneuvers,” he said.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga said the situation is really grave.
“Kenya has got so many UN bodies, and Uganda, I think we have paid with blood. We have shed our blood on the East African continent much more than any African country. So I think we deserve to be supported. Have you sent out envoys to go and lobby over this issue? We need a resolution but based on data, you need to establish the facilities Kenya has,” Kadaga said.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said government is handling this matter with the seriousness it deserves.
“The President has already written to the UN in the strongest terms possible showing the credentials Uganda has got. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has put up a team and this team should be beginning to move to go to various capitals. Those people will be moving around the globe to ensure this centre is retained,” Kasaija said.
