Dr. Otunnu

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Uganda People’s Congress’ newly elected leader, Ambassador Olara Otunnu has resolutely rejected strident demands that he assumes a ‘marital status’ and said these are diversions from the more crucial problems that afflict ordinary Ugandans.The career diplomat was hosted by Tony Geoffrey Owana to his popular BAROMETER show on NBS Television last week when he again defied calls that he show ‘the stuff he is made of’.

Owana who expressed some reluctance to discuss Otunnu’s sex life, he insisted that the public was interested in knowing why the UPC boss was not married at the age of 58. He said it was not only marriage but total absence of even the slightest rumours about a relationship, recent or ancient, with any woman here in Uganda and abroad. Owana went on to remark that such a situation had raised questions not just of the aspiring president’s marital status but also his sexual orientation. Rumours said to be authored by NRM agents suggest that he is a homosexual.

In response, the ebullient politician accused Owana of being an extension of the NRM scheme to divert Ugandans from their pressing problems. He lectured, “Millions of Ugandans are suffering from misrule by NRM and want an end to the regime. They are not interested in marital status; this is just diversionary.” Otunnu explained that being married was not one of the requisites of a good leader and even said that marriage had seen some leaders being corrupted by their wives.

Asked whether he was insulating himself from possible corruption by not getting married, Otunnu remained non committal with a disarming smile. In defence of his intriguing celibacy, Dr. Otunnu always cites world leaders who were single when they came to high office. His list of Single Performers includes Gandhi, Kamuzu Banda, Daniel arap Moi, Kwame Nkrumah and Milton Obote. But when told that Mahtama Gandhi had actually married his beloved Kasturba when both were aged 14 and had four children, Otunnu said he had not meant Mahatma but Indira Gandhi who was a widow when she ruled India.

WIDOW is a marital status and Indira had a number of children as evidence… Information available also shows that Daniel Moi married Lena in 1950 but they separated in 1974 after being blessed with 5 sons and 3 daughters. Dr Obote married Miria in 1963 when aged 38 and God blessed them with children; the enigmatic Kamuzu Banda was not so mysterious as to hide his lifelong ‘companion’ Cecilia Kadzamira from Malawians and as Otunnu himself informed viewers, Nkrumah married the Egyptian beauty Fathia, who died in 2007 and was buried at Nkrumah’s side.

Several viewers agreed with Otunnu that his marital status (or lack of it) had nothing to do with his qualities as a leader, while several more mistakenly believe that it is illegal and unconstitutional for a president to remain unmarried. However, the question of ruling Ugandans without a wife and children will not be so easily deleted from the ongoing presidential race.