We don’t know Angella Katatumba as Pakistan Consul- Uganda and Pakistan governments

The government of Uganda has said it does not recognise singer Angella Katatumba as honorary Consul of Pakistan like she claims.

This comes against the heels of a letter from the Pakistan High Commission in Nairobi, also disowning the singer as consul.

On Sunday, a letter dated March 28, 2018, believed to be from the Pakistan High Commission in Nairobi and addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Uganda circulated on social media sites disowning Katatumba as the country’s consul to Uganda, a title held by her dad, late Boney Mwebesa Katatumba.

“The so called Honorary Consulate of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Uganda is still operating illegally in Uganda. It had actually been ceased to function after the demise of our Honorary Consul Mr Bonny Katatumba. Government of Pakistan has not yet appointed a new Honorary Consul in Uganda,” reads part of the letter.

“The Honorary Consulate of Pakistan currently operating in Uganda under Ms. Angelina Katatumba is fake and fictitious and has no legal authority at all,” the letter continues.

However, Katatumba refuted the letter, saying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had ignored many of those letters since last year because they are only aimed at fighting her.  She insisted being the Pakistan consul in Uganda.

Last month she addressed the Pakistan community in Kampala during celebrations to mark the Pakistan Day.

The Ugandan government through the ministry of foreign affairs has also clarified on the matter saying; “MoFA has never included Angella Katatumba on the Diplomatic List of Uganda, neither has she ever presented to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, letters of credence from the Government of Pakistan appointing her Honorary Consul.”

“Following the death of Mr Boney Katatumba, we received no notification from the appointing authority in Pakistan about who would replace him as their representative, thereby rendering the Consulate closed. The Note Verbale from 2017 by the Consulate was inconsequential as it was tantamount to a self appointment which isn't acceptable under the Vienna Convention,” MoFA adds.

According to the ministry, Government of Pakistan whose nearest Ambassador is in Nairobi has the last word on who is and who isn't his country's representative in Uganda and clearly, from the March 2018 Note Verbale doing the rounds on social media, it has spoken.