A peek into Kazibwe’s race for African Union top job

Dr Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe (R) and one of her contender Equatorial Guinea’s Mba Mokuy,51

What you need to know:

Prestigious position. At the upcoming 27th African Union (AU) Assembly, to be held in Kigali from July 17 to 18, African heads of state will elect a handful of individuals who will lead the AU Commission (AUC) for the next four years. With the stepping down of AUC chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, an interesting battle will be fought around this prestigious position.

For the first time since 2008, both top positions in the AUC have to be filled when elections are held in July. Current chairperson Dlamini Zuma has decided not to run for another term while her Deputy, Erastus Mwencha, is not allowed to serve in the new commission, having been elected twice (in 2008 and 2012).

The portfolios of political affairs, infrastructure and energy, rural economy and agriculture, human resources, and science and technology are also open. The commissioners of peace and security, social affairs, trade and industry, and economic affairs are running for re-election.
The stakes are high. After the tight contest for AUC chairperson in 2012, a lot depends on how smoothly these elections are conducted. The status of the AUC chairperson and the commission has also increased as the AU takes on greater responsibilities and has a higher profile than in its early years.

Battle for chairperson position heating up
Dr Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi (65), currently Botswana’s minister of foreign affairs, was chosen by a majority of member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as its candidate for the position of AUC chairperson at a meeting of the organisation in April.
Despite being supported by South Africa and the regional bloc, her bid could be complicated by the fact that Botswana has not always gone along with AU positions on issues such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), for example.
SADC argues that since Dlamini Zuma is stepping down it is entitled to another term. However, Venson-Moitoi will face two other candidates, from Eastern and Central Africa. This shows that a second term by a SADC national does not necessarily have the support of the other regions in the AU.

For the Eastern region, Uganda has proposed Dr Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe (60), a member of the AU’s Panel of the Wise, a former UN special representative and former executive vice-president of Uganda (1994–2003).
However, it is not sure whether Uganda can muster the full support of neighbouring states, as well as elsewhere on the continent. The contentious relations between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and some of his counterparts in the Eastern region could hamper his candidate’s bid.

Agapito Mba Mokuy (51), Equatorial Guinea’s minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, is the Central African candidate. He is relatively unknown compared to the two other candidates, but his country may launch serious diplomatic and financial efforts to gather votes in the various regional blocs.
The personal relationships built by president Teodoro Obiang Nguema during his long tenure and his assiduous attendance at AU gatherings are viewed as the main strengths of Mokuy’s bid, as his country has a poor record in human rights. Equatorial Guinea has hosted AU summits twice – in 2011 and 2014 – and Obiang Nguema was AU chairperson in 2011.

Can South African diplomacy deliver again?
A key question is whether South Africa will again launch the same diplomatic efforts it deployed for Dlamini Zuma four years ago to ensure a SADC candidate gets the job of AUC chairperson.
In 2012, having a South African national in the competition had a paradoxical effect. On the one hand, regional powers (Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia) did not support the then-South African minister of home affairs for AUC chairperson.
On the other hand, it certainly helped to change the position of some member states, which ultimately voted for Dlamini Zuma in the second and third rounds, after having supporting incumbent Jean Ping in the first.

South Africa’s status on the continent and its diplomatic efforts between the two rounds of voting contributed to a change of vote by smaller states. Such an outcome is not guaranteed with a candidate from Botswana, especially because of the government’s position on certain human rights issues.
Mokuy’s bid, on the other hand, could see regional and language issues resurface. Like South Africa, which four years ago argued that a SADC national had never held the position of AU chairperson, Equatorial Guinea could also argue that a Spanish-speaking national has never held the position, despite the country’s various important contributions to the organisation.

The paradox is that South Africa’s position on salient issues – from Burundi to the ICC – seems closer to that of Equatorial Guinea than that of Botswana. In addition, the cultural identity of the chairperson will probably not play out against the same background of ideological considerations as in 2012, when Ping was deemed to be pro-France.
In 2016 the nationalities of the three contenders for the position of chairperson are less likely to be used for this sensitive line of argument. Neither Uganda nor Equatorial Guinea can be characterised as being too close to their former colonial powers.

About Specioza Wandira Kazibwe

Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe is a Ugandan surgeon and politician. She was Vice President of Uganda from 1994 to 2003. She was the first woman in Africa to hold the position of vice-president of a sovereign nation. In August 2013, she was appointed by the United Nations’s Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon as United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa.
She was born in Iganga District on July 1, 1955. Ms Kazibwe attended Mt St Mary’s College Namagunga, a prestigious all-female boarding high school affiliated with the Catholic Church.
In 1974, she entered Makerere University School of Medicine, where she studied human medicine, graduating with the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree in 1979.
She later obtained the degree of Master of Medicine, also from Makerere University Medical School, specialising in General Surgery.

In 2009, she was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science, by Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Population and International Health.
Dr Kazibwe has been an advocate for women in their position in Africa. In collaboration with the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, she founded the African Women Committee on Peace and Development (AWCPD) in 1998; an organization she has chaired. The objective of AWCPD is to help enable women’s participation in peace and development processes on the continent.

About the African Union Commission
The Commission is the secretariat of the Union entrusted with executive functions. It is composed of 10 officials: A chairperson, a deputy chairperson; Eight commissioners and staff members. The AU Commission is made up of portfolios. They are: peace and security; political affairs; trade and industry; infrastructure and energy; social affairs; rural economy and agriculture; human resources, science and technology; and economic affairs.