Profile of the Secretary General of the Forum of Parliaments of the ICGLR, Ambassador Onyango Kakoba

Previously a Member of Parliament (MP) for fifteen years, Hon. Amb. Onyango Kakoba is currently Secretary General (SG) of the Forum of Parliaments of the International Conference on Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR) since April 2018. As Secretary General, he is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Diplomat of the organization operating at the level of a diplomatic mission.

He is also the Chairperson Board of Directors of the African Parliamentary Alliance for UN Reforms (APAUNR), an international organization spearheading parliamentary advocacy for UN reforms in favour of Africa, more so securing permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council, in line with the AU’s Common African Position on UN Reforms.

While in Parliament, Amb. Kakoba was both an MP in the Ugandan National Parliament (1996-2001, 20062016) and Pan African Parliament (PAP) based in Midrand, South Africa (2011-2016). At PAP he served as Chairperson of the Permanent Committee on Justice and Human Rights as well as Chair of Pan African Parliament – African Peer Review Parliamentary Network (PAN).

For over nine years Hon. Kakoba was also Uganda’s representative on FP-ICGLR, first as the country’s representative on the Steering Committee that established the organization including the enactment of its founding documents (2007-2008). Upon takeoff of the Forum in December 2008, he became his country’s representative on its Executive Committee until May 2016, and was President of the Committee in 2011/2012.

The former legislator first joined the Ugandan Parliament in 1996 and simultaneously from 2011 one of Uganda’s representatives at PAP where he was Leader of the Ugandan delegation. While in the Ugandan Parliament, he provided strategic leadership and direction to numerous Parliamentary Committees and organisations, including being chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which played an oversight role on the Executive when Uganda hosted the biannual Summit in 2007, and the Parliamentary Sessional Committee on Presidential and Foreign Affairs where he was the Vice Chairperson as well as being Initiator and Chairperson (1996-2001) of the Young Parliamentary Association (YPA), a vibrant organization then . He was also a trainer with the Institute of Parliamentary Studies at the Ugandan Parliament.

Amb. Kakoba trained and began his career as a journalist with the print media in Uganda starting with Focus and Telecast Newspapers in 1986/87 before joining The New Vision – one of the biggest news sources in Uganda and the East African Region, working his way up to management level as Bureau Chief at the organization and later at Picfare Group of Companies as Public Relations Manager; a career spanning more than 15 years in
media service.

A holder of an MA in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies and a BA (Hons) in Social Sciences both from the prestigious Makerere University – alma mater of many
post-independence African leaders – and a trained trainer, Hon. Kakoba has conducted several consultancies, training and facilitated on governance, media and international affairs.

Passionate to promote international peace, good governance and media freedom, Amb. Kakoba has travelled widely on missions related to the issues as well as participating in other key International missions and conferences across the globe.