Ambassador Onyanga Aparr's body repatriated

Aparr who was Uganda’s Head of Mission and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations died on June 10. COURTESY PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Aparr previously, from 1996 - 2001, served as Ambassador to the Russian Federation and the 15 Commonwealth of the Independent States of the former Soviet Union. In 2003, he was appointed Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria and the Vatican concurrently, but resident in Berlin.  

  • From 2010, Aparr was High Commissioner to Nigeria and other West African States of Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana, and Cameroon.   Before being Ambassador, he was a senior government valuer in charge of land and real estate appraisal in the Ministry of Lands.

The body of Ambassador Christopher Onyanga Aparr has arrived in the country, a month after he died in Geneva, Switzerland.

Aparr who was Uganda’s Head of Mission and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations died on June 10.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aparr’s body arrived in the country on Saturday morning and burial arrangements will be announced in the subsequent days.

The ministry said his body was received by the senior officials and family members.

It is still not clear what killed Ambassador Aparr, a career diplomat that represented the country at different forums for many years.

His profile on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website indicates that Aparr was also Uganda’s representative at the World Trade Organisation, and Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation Council in Bern.

Ambassador Aparr was the coordinator of Least Developed Countries from January 2014 to March 2015. The ministry says in this time, he championed the cause of the LDC Group in trade negotiations on trade facilitation, agriculture, trade in services, and issues of national development in general in preparation for Bali Ministerial Conference (MC9) in Indonesia. 

At the UN, the ministry says, he was involved in discussions and formulations of binding Principles and Regulations as applied by affiliated organisations like Human Rights Council, International Telecommunications Union, World Health Organisation, International Labour Organisation, and UNCTAD.

 Aparr previously, from 1996 - 2001, served as Ambassador to the Russian Federation and the 15 Commonwealth of the Independent States of the former Soviet Union. In 2003, he was appointed Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria and the Vatican concurrently, but resident in Berlin.  

From 2010, Aparr was High Commissioner to Nigeria and other West African States of Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana, and Cameroon.   Before being Ambassador, he was a senior government valuer in charge of land and real estate appraisal in the Ministry of Lands.