Sam Kutesa
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Meeting_the_Ugandan_Foreign_Minister_%286175761720%29.jpg/220px-Meeting_the_Ugandan_Foreign_Minister_%286175761720%29.jpg)
Sam Kutesa | |
---|---|
![]() Kutesa in 2018 | |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 19 November 2015 – 3 May 2021 | |
Preceded by | Henry Oryem Okello |
Succeeded by | Jeje Odongo |
In office 13 January 2005 – 16 September 2014 | |
Preceded by | Tom Butime (acting) |
Succeeded by | Henry Oryem Okello (acting) |
President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
In office 16 September 2014 – 16 September 2015 | |
Preceded by | John William Ashe |
Succeeded by | Mogens Lykketoft |
Personal details | |
Born | Uganda | 1 February 1949
Citizenship | Uganda |
Spouse | Jeniffer Nankunda (Deceased) |
Alma mater | Makerere University (Bachelor of Laws) Law Development Centre (Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice) |
Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
Known for | Politics |
Sam Kahamba Kutesa (born 1 February 1949) is a Ugandan politician, businessman and lawyer[1] involved in several corruption cases. By the marriage of his daughter Charlotte Kutesa Muhoozi[2] with Muhoozi he is part of the inner circle of president Museveni. Kutesa was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Uganda, a position he held from 13 January 2005 and maintained through three cabinet reshuffles until May 2021.[3][4][5] He was also the elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Mawogola County in Sembabule District.[6] He was the President of the United Nations General Assembly during its 69th session in 2014–2015.[7]
Early life and education
[edit]Kutesa attended Mbarara High School. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University,[8] back when the institution was part of the University of East Africa. He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre in Kampala.[6]
Career
[edit]Kutesa was in private law practice between 1973 and 2001. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mbarara North Constituency from 1980 to 1985 and as Attorney General from 1985 to 1986. Between 1994 and 1995, he served as a delegate to the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. He was elected MP for Mawogola County in 2001 and was re-elected in 2006. He was Minister of State for Investment from 2001 to 2005. President Yoweri Museveni appointed Sam Kutesa as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2005,[9] following the death of James Wapakhabulo.[6]
He is a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement political party.[10]
Corruption
[edit]In 2011, Kutesa was accused in a parliamentary investigation of receiving bribes as kickbacks from Irish oil firm Tullow Oil.[11] Despite calls from MPs for him to resign along with the others accused, a lawyer, Severino Twinobusingye, managed to successfully sue the Attorney General and halt the proceedings and to block the calls for resignation.[11] Following further suspicion around the incident as a result of Tullow Oil's court case with Heritage Oil over its tax on Uganda assets, an ad-hoc parliamentary committee was convened to further investigate the allegations of corruption.[12][13][14]
On 5 December 2018 a federal jury in New York City convicted Chi Ping Patrick Ho of paying bribes to top Ugandan officials Sam Kutesa and Yoweri Museveni. In May 2016, Ho and CEFC China executives traveled to Kampala. Before departing, Ho ensured that $500,000 was wired to the account provided by Kutesa. Ho also advised his boss, the Chairman of CEFC China, to provide $500,000 in cash to President Museveni, supposedly as a campaign donation, even though Museveni had already been reelected. Ho intended these payments as bribes to influence Kutesa and Museveni to use their official power to steer business advantages to CEFC China.[15]
United Nations General Assembly
[edit]As Africa was due to hold the presidency of the sixty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the African Union Executive Council unanimously chose him to be their candidate after the withdrawal of Cameroonian Foreign Minister Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo. His candidature was endorsed unanimously during the 17th Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in Algiers, Algeria in May 2013.[16] He was officially elected by the UNGA on 11 June 2014.[9]
Because Kutesa defended the discriminatory Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014, human rights organizations felt his U.N. presidential position was not supportive of the values embodied in the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[17] A petition asked United States Secretary of State John Kerry to revoke Kutesa's visa and thereby keep him from assuming the role of president of the UNGA.[18] The petition – which garnered over 15,000 signatures on Change.org – was written by Ugandan Milton Allimadi, editor of Black Star News. He highlighted Kutesa's support of the Ugandan anti-gay bill and allegations of corruption. In spite of protests and the petition, Kutesa became the president.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "H.E. Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa". Africa Renewal. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Museveni family tree". 25 March 2009.
- ^ Newvision Archive (18 February 2009). "Full Cabinet List As At 18 February 2009". New Vision (Kampala). Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Uganda State House (27 May 2011). "Comprehensive List of New Cabinet Appointments & Dropped Ministers". Retrieved 25 February 2015 – via Facebook.
- ^ Uganda State House (6 June 2016). "Museveni's new cabinet list At 6 June 2016" (PDF). Daily Monitor. Kampala. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
- ^ a b c Parliament of Uganda (2011). "Profile of Kutesa Kahamba Sam, Member of Parliament for Mawogola County, Ssembabule District". Parliament of Uganda. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "About the President". General Assembly of the United Nations. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ Flash Uganda News (31 July 2020). "Sam Kahamba Kutesa: Biography, Net Worth, Education and Family". Flash Uganda Media. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Bryant, Nick (11 June 2014). "Uganda's Sam Kutesa Elected As UN General Assembly President". BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Political Leadership". riyadh.mofa.go.ug.
- ^ a b Administrator (27 February 2013). "MPs Protest Shs12.9 Billion Reward To Amama Lawyer". Red Pepper (Mukono). Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Walusimbi, Deo (10 December 2013). "Oil Bribes: Why Mbabazi, Kutesa Were Exonerated". The Observer (Uganda). Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Mutaizibwa, Emma (27 March 201). "Uganda: Museveni 'US$50 Million Bribe' – The Inside Story". The Observer (Uganda) via AllAfrica.com.
- ^ Mwenda, Andrew M. (28 March 2013). "Tullow's Alleged Bribe To Museveni". The Independent (Uganda). Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "Schemed to Bribe the President of Chad, President and Foreign Minister of Uganda". 5 December 2018.
- ^ Odyek, John (30 May 2014). "Sam Kutesa Heads for UN Top Job". New Vision Mobile (Kampala). Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Pilkington, Ed (31 May 2014). "UN Backlash As Uganda's 'Anti-Gay' Minister Heads for Human Rights Top Job". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ Allimadi, Milton (30 April 2014). "Why Uganda's Sam Kutesa Must Not Be Allowed to Become UN General Assembly President". HuffPost. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
External links
[edit]- 1949 births
- Living people
- Foreign ministers of Uganda
- Attorneys general of Uganda
- Members of the Parliament of Uganda
- Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly
- Ugandan Anglicans
- 20th-century Ugandan lawyers
- People educated at Mbarara High School
- Makerere University alumni
- Law Development Centre alumni
- National Resistance Movement politicians
- People from Sembabule District
- 21st-century Ugandan politicians
- People named in the Paradise Papers