Africa-Press – Uganda. Blink for a fraction of a second longer, or get caught up scheming to profit from the 2026 general election, and you might miss the most important shift of our time: US President Donald Trump has, in effect, become a one-man United Nations. He now uses deals and threats as his lingua franca to pursue world peace.
Why?
Once upon a time, in 1946, post-World War II leaders who championed decolonisation also founded the United Nations (UN). Its Charter, written in five official languages — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish — declares in Article 1 that the purposes of the UN are “to maintain international peace and security… and to bring about by peaceful means… adjustment or settlement of international disputes.”
In theory, the UN’s purpose remains alive. In practice, it is effectively dead. Iraq in 2003, Libya in 2011, Tigray in northern Ethiopia from 2020–23, and now Ukraine have all exposed its impotence. Secretary-General António Guterres remains in office, but his role is largely ceremonial — reading prepared statements on peace, climate, and human rights while the real action takes place elsewhere.
That “elsewhere” is now the White House, the new UN headquarters, and Trump is the de facto Secretary-General. In Tel Aviv last week, he addressed the Knesset and declared an end to the 3,000-year-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, securing the release of all Israeli hostages, living and deceased.
The Secretary-General was a mere onlooker. Later, at the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Egypt, Trump formalized the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
Trump has also turned his attention to the Russia-Ukraine war. The US has signed a deal to become the monopoly buyer of Ukrainian minerals and will supply Kyiv with long-range missiles capable of hitting Moscow. Reports indicate Presidents Zelenskyy and Putin will visit the White House — the new UN — next week to advance these negotiations.
Closer to home, on May 27, 2025, Trump brokered a peace deal between Rwanda and DR Congo at the White House, demonstrating that his approach is not limited to the Middle East or Europe.
Which brings us to Uganda and a tantalising question: if Trump could secure the release of Israeli hostages from Gaza, what is stopping him from helping secure the release of Dr Kizza Besigye? Many consider Besigye to be effectively held without trial or bail for nearly a year.
A Trump-mediated deal could be straightforward:
To President Museveni: withdraw all sanctions imposed on Uganda.
To Dr. Besigye: facilitate his release under the Amnesty Act 2000.
Such a “win-win” solution could reconcile former comrades-in-arms and mark a historic step toward national reconciliation — a prerequisite for sustainable peace and development. Given Museveni’s recent moves toward reconciliation, this seems plausible.
Yesterday, reconciliation involved the former PRA commander, Col. Samson Mande. Tomorrow, it could involve Uganda’s former political strategist, Col. Kizza Besigye.
Is anyone reading this — close to Museveni, UN chief António Guterres, Donald Trump, or Dr. Besigye — ready to act?
Sam Akaki – always advocating for negotiated peace.
Source: Nilepost News
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