The Forum for Democratic Change Secretary General Nandala Mafabi has hailed President Museveni’s government for backing the appointment of former Oxfam International boss Winnie Byanyima as the new UNAIDS Executive Director.
He noted that the government did not object to the candidature of Byanyima, whom he described as a senior and founding member of FDC, the biggest opposition party in the country.
“We are proud that a member of our party has been appointed to a senior position in the UN system and thank the government for giving a no objection to her candidature. FDC hopes that the NRM government will continue to support all qualified Ugandans to serve in international organizations, and government departments in Uganda as Uganda belongs to us all,” he said.
Mafabi further noted that the FDC will miss Byanyima in the ‘political struggle’.
“As a non-partisan senior UN official, we will miss Winnie’s voice in our political struggle, but we count on her to remain true to the values of FDC and to fight on for a just world where all have an equal chance to live in dignity”.
This comes after UNAIDS announced the appointment of Ms Winnie Byanyima as their new Executive Director after leaving her job at Oxfam where she has been serving in the same role for about seven years.
In a statement, UNAIDS noted: “UNAIDS warmly welcomes the appointment of Winnie Byanyima as its new Executive Director. Ms Byanyima has more than 30 years of experience in political leadership, diplomacy and humanitarian engagement. ”
On her part, the former outspoken Ugandan legislator expressed pleasure for joining the AIDS organisation.