Uganda: Otunnu forgives Museveni gov’t over passport denial that left him stateless
Published: 6/Aug/2026
Source: The Independent (Kampala)
Kampala, Uganda | URN | Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General Olara Otunnu says he has forgiven the Ugandan government for what he describes as years of mistreatment that left him stateless after authorities allegedly refused to renew his Ugandan passport.
Otunnu, once one of President Yoweri Museveni’s most outspoken political critics, says he has chosen to move beyond the painful chapter and instead focus on what he describes as a shared national mission following Uganda’s endorsement of his candidature for the position of United Nations Secretary-General.
His remarks come just days after President Museveni publicly backed his bid to succeed António Guterres as the next UN Secretary-General, marking a remarkable thaw in relations between the veteran diplomat and the government he fiercely opposed for decades. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Uganda Radio Network (URN), Otunnu said he no longer harbours resentment over the circumstances that left him without Ugandan citizenship for several years.
“For many, many years, I was stateless, not by my choice, but because the Ugandan government had declined to renew my passport. But all that is history. It is true, it is factual, but I don’t dwell on that,” Otunnu said, recalling how he ended up as a citizen of Côte d’Ivoire in 2005.
Read further: https://www.independent.co.ug/otunnu-forgives-museveni-govt-over-passport-denial-that-left-him-stateless/