Mukula Hails Museveni’s Backing of Former Rival Otunnu for UN Top Job as “Leadership Rooted in Forgiveness”

Kampala — Captain Mike Mukula, the former National Resistance Movement (NRM) Vice Chairman for Eastern Uganda, has warmly praised President Yoweri Museveni’s decision to endorse Ambassador Olara Otunnu as Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, describing it as a powerful act of statesmanship grounded in forgiveness, reconciliation and national unity.

In a statement released Tuesday, Mukula said the President’s support for the veteran diplomat and former opposition figure demonstrated “leadership rooted in forgiveness, reconciliation, and national unity.”

“Great nations are built when past differences give way to a shared future. Reconciliation reflects both Christian values and statesmanship,” Mukula said. “May God continue to bless and guide him with wisdom as Uganda pursues peace, cohesion, and prosperity for all.”

The remarks come a day after Museveni formally presented Otunnu to diplomats at State House, Entebbe, urging members of the UN Security Council and the international community to back the Ugandan nominee. Former Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda has been tasked with leading the lobbying effort abroad.

Otunnu, 75, is a seasoned diplomat with deep roots in Ugandan and international affairs. He served as Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1980 to 1985, briefly as Foreign Minister in 1985–86, and later as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict from 1997 to 2005. He also headed the International Peace Academy and contested the 2011 presidential election as the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) candidate, finishing a distant fourth.

The two men share a long and sometimes complex history. Both were students at Makerere University, and Otunnu later served in the short-lived governments that preceded Museveni’s National Resistance Army (NRA) takeover in 1986. For years they stood on opposite sides of Uganda’s political divide. Mukula’s statement frames the current endorsement as a deliberate closing of that chapter in favour of a larger national and continental interest.

Supporters of the nomination point to Otunnu’s extensive UN experience, his work on children in conflict, and Uganda’s own narrative of post-conflict recovery. Critics, including opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) and human rights activists, have questioned the timing, arguing that domestic concerns over prolonged detentions and political freedoms undermine Uganda’s moral claim to lead the world body.

Mukula, a long-time NRM stalwart, former State Minister for Health and one-time personal pilot to Museveni, positioned the decision within a broader Christian and pan-African ethic of reconciliation. By publicly celebrating the move, the Eastern Region party leader added a prominent NRM voice to the government’s campaign to present Otunnu as a unifying figure capable of bridging Uganda’s past divisions on the global stage.

As the race to succeed António Guterres intensifies, Uganda’s nomination of a former opposition presidential candidate by the long-serving incumbent has already drawn regional and international attention. Whether the gesture of reconciliation celebrated by Mukula will translate into meaningful diplomatic momentum remains to be seen. For now, the statement underscores a rare moment of political convergence in a country more often defined by its enduring rivalries.