Uganda gets proof against Rwanda
Mar 25, 2003
The trophy the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) got from their recent campaign in the volatile north eastern Congolese region of Ituri is the capture of 22 fighters of the People’s Redemption Army (PRA).
By Asuman Bisiika
The trophy the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) got from their recent campaign in the volatile north eastern Congolese region of Ituri is the capture of 22 fighters of the People’s Redemption Army (PRA).
At the local level, these captured fighters will bear witness to the persistent assertion by the UPDF that the RPA is real.
However, the most significant aspect of the captured PRA fighters is the effect it may have on the efforts geared to the normalisation of the icy relationship between Uganda and Rwanda.
Given the background of accusations and counter-accusations (and the consequent denials and counter-denials) of aiding rebels on either side, Uganda now seems to have the solid evidence backing their accusations that Rwanda is supporting Ugandan dissidents.
In the circumstances, the questions to ask now are: How will Rwandan government respond (and I do not mean the public denials) to this evidence that the PRA rebels were getting moral and material support from the Kigali regime? How will the mediators involved in the efforts to normalise the icy relations between Uganda and Rwanda treat this development?
In general, what effect will this “irrefutable evidence†(to use Joseph Bideri’s words) showing that Rwanda is supporting Ugandan dissidents have on the mediation efforts to normalise the relationship between the two countries?
The problem between Uganda and Rwanda is mistrust and mutual suspicion. The level of mutual mistrust is so high that whatever is done in Kampala is viewed with a very high degree of suspicion in Kigali and vice versa. It is this suspicion that has driven the Rwanda government to have “contingent plans†tied in with what they call a counter-defensive strategy against any threat (perceived or real) from Uganda.
The Ugandan government say that their accusations against Rwanda have been vindicated by the capture of the PRA rebels who admit to have got assistance from Rwanda. Asked whether the Ugandan government is going present the captured PRA fighters to a mediation team, Col. Kahinda Otafiire, the Minister for International Relations said: “Why not? This will strengthen our case that Rwanda is out to destabilise our country by assisting our enemies.
A European diplomat based in Kampala said that the capture of these PRA fighters is going to put some pressure on the Rwandan side to explain itself out.
“When the British government cautioned Rwanda against sending troops to Congo, I think the point the British government wanted to make was that there was no justification for the Rwandan government to re-deploy in Congo. I think the Rwandan side have a weaker case this time,†said the diplomat who did not want his name to appear in this report.
An independent journalist in Kigali said the objective of Rwanda’s deployment in the DRC was basically to rescue the remaining elements of the PRA before they are exposed.
“It is my opinion that if Uganda continues to take airport after airport in the Ituri region, the Rwandans will have to deploy some sort of rescue mission to evacuate some PRA elements in the region. The truth is that Uganda has more strategic security interests in Ituri region than Rwanda which does not have a common border with the region,†the analyst.
Even without having to look very far, the circumstances on the ground point to a situation where army officers who feel dissatisfied with the Kampala regime flee to Kigali and vice versa.
UPDF renegade Colonels Samson Mande and Anthony Kyakabale who fled the country to Rwanda later announced that that they would fight the Ugandan government by force of arms. They are said to have formed the PRA.
After the Ugandan Presidential Elections in March 2001, many people who campaigned for Colonel Besigye fled to Rwanda from what they said was a repressive regime out to kill them. There were also reports of people missing from villages in western Uganda. All the people who went missing in the west and other parts of Uganda had one thing in common: their association to Colonel Besigye’s failed Presidential bid or Reform Agenda.
It was therefore not surprising that the Ugandan security establishment expressed fears that Reform Agenda would offer a political base and a network from which the PRA would recruit people to its ranks. Suffice it to say that all the 22 captured PRA rebels had links to Colonel Dr. Besigye’s 2001 presidential bid and are associated with Reform Agenda.
But Dr. Charles Murigande, the Rwandan minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation told The New Vision on March 23 that the alleged PRA fighters captured in the DRC had nothing to do with Rwanda.
“I think there is some element of dishonesty here. According to press reports, I personally did not get anything seriously linking the captured men with our country. Generally, I do not think the issue of linking the captured PRA men is worth any comment from Rwanda,†said Dr. Charles Murigande dismissing the whole issue as trivial.
However, whether the Rwandan authorities say they do not assist Ugandan dissidents, it is a fact that there are Ugandan dissidents operating in eastern Congo. Local leaders in Rwebisengo (Bundibugyo district) early this year said that some of the people who came to raid their cattle were speaking Luganda, Runyankore and Ugandan Swahili. This suggested that the raiding gangs had a connection with Ugandan dissidents.
But there is a fear that the Ituri revelations may harden position on both sides. However, there seems to be genuine strategic security concerns for Uganda in the Ituri region that should be the concern for all the parties involved in the mediation efforts to normalise the Ugandan Rwanda relations.
The Rwandan team which came to Uganda to verify whether there were Rwandan rebels undergoing training reported that there wasn’t anything to constitute training of rebels.
And there has not been any official communication to the contrary. So, if the Rwandans insist that Uganda is training the dreaded Interahamwe, they will be subjecting themselves to a situation where they would have to produce evidence to back their claims.
The trophy the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) got from their recent campaign in the volatile north eastern Congolese region of Ituri is the capture of 22 fighters of the People’s Redemption Army (PRA).
At the local level, these captured fighters will bear witness to the persistent assertion by the UPDF that the RPA is real.
However, the most significant aspect of the captured PRA fighters is the effect it may have on the efforts geared to the normalisation of the icy relationship between Uganda and Rwanda.
Given the background of accusations and counter-accusations (and the consequent denials and counter-denials) of aiding rebels on either side, Uganda now seems to have the solid evidence backing their accusations that Rwanda is supporting Ugandan dissidents.
In the circumstances, the questions to ask now are: How will Rwandan government respond (and I do not mean the public denials) to this evidence that the PRA rebels were getting moral and material support from the Kigali regime? How will the mediators involved in the efforts to normalise the icy relations between Uganda and Rwanda treat this development?
In general, what effect will this “irrefutable evidence†(to use Joseph Bideri’s words) showing that Rwanda is supporting Ugandan dissidents have on the mediation efforts to normalise the relationship between the two countries?
The problem between Uganda and Rwanda is mistrust and mutual suspicion. The level of mutual mistrust is so high that whatever is done in Kampala is viewed with a very high degree of suspicion in Kigali and vice versa. It is this suspicion that has driven the Rwanda government to have “contingent plans†tied in with what they call a counter-defensive strategy against any threat (perceived or real) from Uganda.
The Ugandan government say that their accusations against Rwanda have been vindicated by the capture of the PRA rebels who admit to have got assistance from Rwanda. Asked whether the Ugandan government is going present the captured PRA fighters to a mediation team, Col. Kahinda Otafiire, the Minister for International Relations said: “Why not? This will strengthen our case that Rwanda is out to destabilise our country by assisting our enemies.
A European diplomat based in Kampala said that the capture of these PRA fighters is going to put some pressure on the Rwandan side to explain itself out.
“When the British government cautioned Rwanda against sending troops to Congo, I think the point the British government wanted to make was that there was no justification for the Rwandan government to re-deploy in Congo. I think the Rwandan side have a weaker case this time,†said the diplomat who did not want his name to appear in this report.
An independent journalist in Kigali said the objective of Rwanda’s deployment in the DRC was basically to rescue the remaining elements of the PRA before they are exposed.
“It is my opinion that if Uganda continues to take airport after airport in the Ituri region, the Rwandans will have to deploy some sort of rescue mission to evacuate some PRA elements in the region. The truth is that Uganda has more strategic security interests in Ituri region than Rwanda which does not have a common border with the region,†the analyst.
Even without having to look very far, the circumstances on the ground point to a situation where army officers who feel dissatisfied with the Kampala regime flee to Kigali and vice versa.
UPDF renegade Colonels Samson Mande and Anthony Kyakabale who fled the country to Rwanda later announced that that they would fight the Ugandan government by force of arms. They are said to have formed the PRA.
After the Ugandan Presidential Elections in March 2001, many people who campaigned for Colonel Besigye fled to Rwanda from what they said was a repressive regime out to kill them. There were also reports of people missing from villages in western Uganda. All the people who went missing in the west and other parts of Uganda had one thing in common: their association to Colonel Besigye’s failed Presidential bid or Reform Agenda.
It was therefore not surprising that the Ugandan security establishment expressed fears that Reform Agenda would offer a political base and a network from which the PRA would recruit people to its ranks. Suffice it to say that all the 22 captured PRA rebels had links to Colonel Dr. Besigye’s 2001 presidential bid and are associated with Reform Agenda.
But Dr. Charles Murigande, the Rwandan minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Co-operation told The New Vision on March 23 that the alleged PRA fighters captured in the DRC had nothing to do with Rwanda.
“I think there is some element of dishonesty here. According to press reports, I personally did not get anything seriously linking the captured men with our country. Generally, I do not think the issue of linking the captured PRA men is worth any comment from Rwanda,†said Dr. Charles Murigande dismissing the whole issue as trivial.
However, whether the Rwandan authorities say they do not assist Ugandan dissidents, it is a fact that there are Ugandan dissidents operating in eastern Congo. Local leaders in Rwebisengo (Bundibugyo district) early this year said that some of the people who came to raid their cattle were speaking Luganda, Runyankore and Ugandan Swahili. This suggested that the raiding gangs had a connection with Ugandan dissidents.
But there is a fear that the Ituri revelations may harden position on both sides. However, there seems to be genuine strategic security concerns for Uganda in the Ituri region that should be the concern for all the parties involved in the mediation efforts to normalise the Ugandan Rwanda relations.
The Rwandan team which came to Uganda to verify whether there were Rwandan rebels undergoing training reported that there wasn’t anything to constitute training of rebels.
And there has not been any official communication to the contrary. So, if the Rwandans insist that Uganda is training the dreaded Interahamwe, they will be subjecting themselves to a situation where they would have to produce evidence to back their claims.