EAST AFRICA HAVE NEW LADIES DIPLOMATS IN WASHINGTON

President Obama performs one of the traditional duties of his job on July 18th , Thursday last week , formally welcoming new ambassadors to Washington.It's known as an Ambassador Credentialing Ceremony, held in the Oval Office."The presentation of credentials is a traditional ceremony that marks the formal beginning of an ambassador's service in Washington," notes the White House schedule. 

Thursday's event featured  new diplomats from East Africa

• Her Excellency Mathilde Mukantabana, ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda

• Her Excellency Oliver Wonekha, ambassador of the Republic of Uganda

• Her Excellency Liberata Rutageruka Mulamula, ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania

Who is Mathilde Mukantabana Rwanda envoy?

Mukantabana’s appointment is a good one for several reasons, but I will mention a few. Having lived and worked in the U.S. for well over two decades, she is familiar with the U.S. political landscape and can therefore be an effective player — better than some we have seen who have had to learn on the job.

Mathilde Mukantabana has been appointed as Rwanda’s new Ambassador to Washington, replacing the long-serving  maverick Ambassador James Kimonyo. This appointment has been welcome news in the Rwandan Diaspora, as one of our own has been appointed for this coveted post.

In the USA, Mukantabana is lauded not only an amazing instructor, but a great mobiliser of the Rwandan community in North America and her efforts to raise awareness about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is commended. The CRC awarded the Crystal Apple Award to Mukantabana at its annual Spring Convocation on January 13, 2012.The little-known academic is not a common face in Rwanda but She is household name among Rwandans in the U.S.

Mukantabana was born and raised in Rwanda before she moved to the United States to pursue her studies. She is a famed professor of history at Cosumnes River College (CRC) in Sacramento, California, and President of Friends of Rwanda Association (FORA), a non-profit American relief association.
Under the aegis of FORA, she has organised numerous workshops and international conferences on Post-Genocide experience.Government has nominated Prof. Mathilde Mukantabana as new envoy to Washington DC. A renowned academic and campaigner Prof. Mathilde Mukantabana has been named as Rwanda’s envoy to the United States – replacing long serving James Kimonyo, who has not been posted anywhere.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Dr Pierre Damien Habumuremyi announced in its final communiqué that it has “nominated” Prof Mukantabana to be ambassador to Washington.
According to available information, Prof Mathilde Mukantabana was born and raised in Rwanda before she moved to the United States to pursue her studies.

Who is Liberata Mula Mula  as Tanzania Envoy ?

Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, a senior diplomatic adviser to the president of Tanzania, 
 Mulamula, the former Executive Secretary of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR),

 A career diplomat, she joined the Tanzania Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981 and served in the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in different capacities from 1985-1992 and 2002-2003, and in the Tanzania High Commission to Canada, from 1999-2002.

From 2003-2006 she was Director of Multilateral Cooperation in the Department of the Tanzania Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1992-1994, Ambassador Mulamula participated in the Rwandese Peace talks in Arusha, Tanzania, as part of the facilitators team. Ambassador Mulamula holds a Master of Arts (St. John’s University, USA, 1989), Diploma International Law (1989), Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Relations (1983).

Who is Wonekha  as Ugandan Envoy  ?

Ambassador Wonekha, a former Woman Member of Parliament for Bududa, was received by Obama on Thursday at the White House in Washington DC.Wonekha holds a Bsc (hons) from Makerere University and a postgraduate diploma in education from the same institution. President and the First Lady, Michelle Obama, hosted a reception for the foreign dignitaries present. Wonekha is Uganda’s Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary to the US.

The presentation of credentials is a traditional ceremony that marks the formal beginning of an ambassador’s service.The state minister of trade, David Wakikona, who also hails from Bududa, described Wonekha as a hardworking person, who is easy to communicate with.

Appointed last August, Wonekha served both in the seventh and eighth parliaments, but in different constituencies.In the Seventh Parliament, she represented Mbale district, while in the Eighth Parliament, she relocated to Bududa – then a new district.

In the seventh parliament, Wonekha served on the committee of agriculture, which she later chaired in the Eighth Parliament. When she left Parliament, she unsuccessfully contested for a seat on the East African Legislative Assembly on the NRM ticket.

 She also worked in the Coffee Marketing Board and Kyagalanyi Coffee Limited.