Rwandan dissidents not refugees in Uganda - Ecweru

As Uganda gears up for a  four-day regional summit on refugees in Kampala, Musa Ecweru, whose ministry is in charge of the refugees has stridently pushed back against claims that some of the dissidents Kigali accuses of seeking to destabilize it enjoy refugee status in Uganda.

Ecweru who is the state minister for relief and disaster preparedness avers that Uganda's much-vaunted refugee policy is premised on acceptable international conventions and instruments on the treatment of individuals escaping strife and persecution from their home countries.

The minister who also dabbles as Amuria County MP made the remarks on Friday while announcing the nitty-gritty of the refugee summit under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

"No refugee is allowed to use Uganda as a springboard to destabilize another country. The price of committing such acts is to have one's refugee status revoked," Ecweru said.

Ecweru's comments come at a time when relations between Rwanda and Uganda are at an all-time low over a host of accusations by Kigali revolving around alleged dissidents bent on subverting it being allegedly afforded freedom by Kampala to operate on its territory.

Although Ecweru did not mention names while fielding questions from journalists about Kigali's accusations, Rwanda has of late been explicit about its disquiet over its former deputy High Commissioner to India, Charlotte Mukankusi and tycoon Tribert Rujugiro zipping in and out of Uganda with ease.

Businessman Tribert Rujugiro.

In a recent letter to his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, President Yoweri Museveni refuted claims by Kigali that Uganda is offering any form of support to Rwandan dissidents.

However, Museveni conceded in the letter of having "accidentally" met Mukankusi and a one Gasana whose request for support to destabilize Rwanda was flatly rejected.

Among the groups Kigali claims are operating in Uganda include Rwanda National Congress led by its former army chief and one time High Commissioner to India but now an émigré in South Africa, Gen. Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa.

Following revelations of Museveni's letter to Kagame, the Rwandan press has been awash with a vicious rebuttal to his memo, alleging that Mukankusi is travelling on Ugandan passport whose Photostat copy has been widely circulated.

On the issue of abduction of high profile Rwandan émigrés enjoying refugee status and their subsequent repatriation to Rwanda and, whether such security laxity does not undercut Uganda's open door policy to refugees, the minister described it as "not the norm."

Ecweru said: "We have complained and exposed rogue elements behind this. But abduction and repatriation of refugees is against international law.

In 2013, Uganda's policy on refugees came under intense scrutiny after Joel Mutabazi; a former bodyguard to Kagame was abducted and repatriated to Rwanda where he was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2014.

At the time of his abduction, Mutabazi had been granted refugee status in Uganda.

The Kampala summit is a regional thematic meeting on livelihoods and self-reliance for refugees, returnees and host communities.

The conference which will be graced by line ministries, lead agencies and civil society organizations that deal with refugee issues is starting tomorrow and will be concluded on Thursday.

One of the objective s of the summit, according to Ecweru, includes galvanising resource mobilisation from IGAD member states and other partners to support refugee-hosting countries.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, 6.8m people around the world are refugees of which 3.2 are being hosted by IGAD nations.

Of the 3.2 in IGAD regions, more than 1m refugees are being hosted by Uganda. Outside Turkey and Lebanon, no other country is hosting more refugees than Uganda.