Why Angella Katatumba is fighting for Pakistan consulate

Angela Katatumba

Singer Angella Katatumba says she has been working as the Deputy Consulate of Pakistan to Uganda for the last 12 years, ever since her late father Hon Bonney Katatumba took over the office.

In a phone interview with Sqoop, the singer said: “When my father Hon Bonney Katatumba was appointed the Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Uganda by former Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf, he couldn’t work alone in the office so he appointed me as the Deputy Consul of Pakistan in Uganda.”

She however says that ever since her father was appointed, the Consulate in Nairobi, Kenya seemed unhappy about the appointment of a Christian as consul.

“The Consulate in Kenya was meant to supervise and work closely with the one in Uganda but because it was a Christian heading it, they cut all connections with the Ugandan offices. They never worked together, rather Bonney reported directly to the Pakistan Government,” Katatumba said.

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However, according to Margaret Kafeero, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokes Person, the ministry has never included Angella Katatumba on the Diplomatic List of Uganda, neither has she ever presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, letters of credence from the Government of Pakistan appointing her, Honorary Consul.

“Following the death of Mr Bonny Katatumba, we received no notification from the appointing authority in Pakistan about who would replace him as their representative, thereby rendering the Consulate closed,” Kafeero said.

 But why is she now the acting consul?

Angella however says that since they do not communicate with the Nairobi office, and her father had appointed her the Deputy, she automatically became the Acting Consul in Uganda.

“I am waiting for whoever will take on office which is okay with me but as far as I am concerned, the office in Nairobi has no powers to appoint a new Consul in Uganda,” Angella said.

She insists that the office has never closed since her father died, saying she has been receiving calls on some matters.

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 The letter from Kenya

When asked about the letter from the High Commission for Pakistan in Nairobi, Angella says that the letter was not directed to her office or the office of the Consulate of Pakistan in Uganda. She only saw it on social media being shared by social media users. “It explains why we have not been working together for the last many years with the Nairobi office and it was the reason they didn’t write to me or the office but to the Ministry of Internal Affairs,” Angella said. She added: “Ministry of Internal Affairs doesn’t appoint a Consul of Pakistan in Uganda and neither does the Consulate of Nairobi and for that reason, I will only wait for the official statement from the Pakistan Government and not let the Kenyans bully me out of office.”

Kafeero in her statement however said, “It is Pakistan Government and not MoFA (Uganda) and certainly not the [Ugandan] Consulate to determine who is and who isn’t the Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Uganda,” adding that, “The Government of Pakistan whose nearest Ambassador is in Nairobi has the last word on who is and who isn’t his country’s representative in Uganda and clearly, from the March 2018 Note Verbale doing the rounds on social media, it has spoken.”