Ugandan statesman in the race to become next secretary-general of the United Nations

KAMPALA, Uganda -- A Ugandan statesman is in the race to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, the latest entrant in a contest that includes six others who want to succeed Antonio Guterres at the end of this year. Backed by Uganda, Olara Otunnu is traveling in New York “to meet delegations and engage in interactive dialogue” with the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council, said Adonia Ayebare, Uganda’s permanent representative to the U.N.Otunnu had to get visa assistance, with Ugandans currently barred from entering the U.S. as part of measures to prevent the spread of Ebola, Ayebare said.Otunnu, 75, is a veteran of the U.N. system who has been in retirement since unsuccessfully contesting the Ugandan presidency in 2011. He was once seen as a favorite to replace the Egyptian Boutros-Boutros Ghali as U.N. secretary-general in 1997, but was blocked by the Ugandan authorities now nominating him. Then the president of the International Peace Institute in New York, Otunnu was not on good terms with the government of President Yoweri Museveni. Ghana’s Kofi Annan won the job.Annan named Otunnu a U.N. under-secretary-general and his special representative fo...