By Henry Mukasa
in Rikanga In Congo

LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony has denied having any links or contriving a plan with FDC leader Col. Kiiza Besigye to overthrow the Government by force of arms.
Answering a question put to him by the New Vision during a press conference on Tuesday, Kony said linking him to Besigye was pure propaganda.

“That one is not true. That one is not true,” Kony retorted. “That is only propaganda which (President) Museveni is stating because he wants to destroy the party of Besigye. Me, myself, I do not know Besigye. I did not meet Kizza Besigye. There is no plan between me and Besigye,’ he stated.

James Opoka, a former aide to Besigye, was killed by LRA shortly after he joined the rebels in camps near the Sudan–Uganda border in 2001.

Meanwhile, South Sudan vice-president Dr. Riek Machar, after six days of waiting, finally met Kony at Rikanga, a border point between Sudan and DR Congo.

Machar, the chief peace talks negotiator between Uganda and the LRA, has on a daily basis trekked from Nabanga through forests and waited for Kony, who once sent his deputy Vincent Otii to talk to him. On another occasion, Kony said he could not see him because of the rains.

After the closed meeting, Machar, who looked jovial, said his mission had been to brief Kony on the progress of the peace talks.
Sources said he also asked the LRA chief to upgrade his negotiation team in Juba.

“We have agreed to go ahead with the second leg of the talks which will start Monday,” Machar said. Sources added that it was agreed in the meeting that Otti joins the Juba talks.

In Rikanga, Machar introduced Uganda’s consular to Juba Busho Ndiyenka and the administrative attaché Joseph Lotuk to Kony.

As he shook hands with each, Kony said, “I’m committed to peace. You people must take this message. In God’s name, peace will return to northern Uganda and southern Sudan.”

As he returned to Juba yesterday, Machar insisted that Otti must attend the Juba talks resuming on Monday as agreed with Kony. As he left Nabanga, he turned away a group of the LRA negoting team without Otti.

“They are not ready. They can have more time to consult until Saturday because Otti is supposed to come with them. We shall not take a delegation without him. We are going to the final stage. We need someone who can take decisions,” said a visibly irritated Machar.

He advised the LRA to assemble in Nabanga on Saturday ready to travel to Juba.

Earlier, tempers flared after LRA commanders tried to dictate the deployment of the security at the meeting venue and the positioning of the guns.

Enraged SPLA commander told them off and warned them to have “some respect for the mediators.”

An officer shouted, “One, stop directing us. Two, this is our country. Three, have respect for mediators.” Another one warned that the LRA would be thrown out of the venue if they remained intransigent.

“We took you to Juba for two months. We stayed with these guys on the delegation. We would have handed them over to the Government of Uganda but we did not. This is our land, you should respect us,” an SPLA soldier said, before one of the gun-trotting LRA commanders responded, “I understand.”