Opinion: Amina defeat blow to Jubilee and not a national tragedy

She has done well for herself and for her country, too. She grew steadily through the ranks in various overseas postings, before returning home. Once here, she has occupied prestigious, but challenging, high level and high profile placements. She has acquitted herself admirably. Even at her lowest ebb, her campaigns against the International Criminal Court, three years ago, remain as the morning dew. PHOTO: COURTESY

Receive greetings from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I arrived here three days ago, in the wake of our Ambassador Amina Mohamed’s defeat in the search for the presidency of the African Union. I am still getting over the debacle, wondering what to make of it. I accept, of course, that life is like that. You win some and lose some. Yet some things just don’t add up.

There was so much high-level commotion at home in the lead up to this humbling fiasco. Like many people in my country, I began to believe it was a closed deal. Victory seemed a matter of course. Our leaders assured us that they had done their homework.