Uganda basks in the glory for hosting yet another summit which brought together 35 African heads-of-state and other delegates to the capital, Kampala. Uganda first hosted a summit of this stature, the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in October 1975.

The then President Iddi Amin was the man in the show, and he was subsequently appointed OAU Chairman by virtue of being host.

We look back with nostalgia of how Amin staked his life to this summit: Ugandans were ordered to clean and super-polish the streets of Kampala and other towns under close supervision of men-in-uniform. Amin saw to it that nothing was broken and missing at this summit because, according to various observers, this was his day.

Thirty five years later, the summit returned to Kampala under the theme: "Maternal, Infant and Child Health Development and Development in Africa".

The summit ended on July 27 with the Chairman, President Bingu Wa Mutharika, saying it was a "resounding success". The heads of state committed themselves to scaling back the death of children under the age of five, ensuring that women don't die while bringing life on earth, increased access to medicine and good nutrition by children and women.

They also re-affirmed their commitment to revamp infrastructure and heavily invest in energy. The resounding resolution was the immediate support to the Somalia peace keeping effort, with Guinea and Djibouti getting ready to deploy their troops to the war-raved country.

Just like many other summits where African leaders have made such similar resolutions, the actual impact of the 15th AU Munyonyo summit will be seen in the implementation of its deliberations, as various critics point out.

In a phone interview with The Sunrise, Ambassador James Mugume, Permanent Secretary of the foreign affairs ministry, said that the summit was organised to unrivaled success, and added that no similar summit on the African continent has attracted 35 heads- of-state.

"We've had AU summits where only 10 presidents turn up, but the mere fact that we've registered this considerable number of heads- of-state is success in itself," he said, mentioning that the excellent preparation proved Uganda's ability to host high-profile meets.

The 15th AU summit comes in the wake of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Review Conference that attracted over 4000 delegates in Kampala. In 2007, Uganda successfully hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) which was graced by Her Majesty the Queen of England. Critics say that other than basking in the glory of being host, Uganda is yet to benefit from such meetings.
One such critic is FDC spokesperson Wafula Oguttu who argues that instead of spending billions worth taxpayers' sweat organizing such meetings, government should rather channel this money to meet the plight of Uganda's peasants, most of whom go without food, lack access to affordable and quality medical care and can't afford quality education.

"Government spent Shs 155 billion on Chogm just to buy whisky and entertain the Queen and other delegates, all to the glorification of President Museveni," said Oguttu. He added that if put to good use, this money would go a long way in building and refurbishing hospitals and equipping them with drugs.

Oguttu, who doesn't see any relevance in such high-profile meetings, asserts that the just-concluded AU Summit was yet another occasion for African dictators to meet and show-case their flamboyance, and congratulate themselves for their longevity in power.

"It's just the usual occasion where they meet to toss whine and count how many executive presidential jets they've flown for the time they've been in power," he contends.
It's worth noting that much as Oguttu castigates the Kampala AU summit, referring to it as "one of those occasions", the opposition seized the moment and presented their petitions before the AU leaders, giving highlights on the alleged government crackdown on the opposition.

When tasked by Sunrise to substantiate his opinion of the AU summit being of no consequence, and yet they sought refuge from the AU leaders, Oguttu was cagey and only said that they wanted to project their plight to the world regardless of whom they addressed. "Our main desire was to be heard, that was all; regardless of who was hearing us," he argued.

Infact the opposition held countrywide anti-EC demonstrations through which they sought the attention of the AU delegates. FDC president Kizza Besigye said that the demonstrations were a call to the AU countries to establish credible electoral bodies in the pursuit of democratic principles.

Other opposition leaders such as Nobert Mao of DP and Hussein Kyanjo of JEEMA hold similar sentiments with Oguttu as regards the 15th AU summit. Mao awaits to see other AU countries honour their pledges in relation to Somalia, and also the significant reduction in infant and maternal mortality in the next five years, for him to count the summit as a success.