After some good time of President Yoweri Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame not seeing eye to eye, there could be some hope of easing the tensions by the time the countries get done with the current crisis caused by Coronavirus if the exclusive phone conversation between the two presidents is one to go by.
During his 12th national address on COVID19 on Tuesday 28, President Museveni made a surprise revelation that he had had a lengthy conversation with the regional leaders, including the Rwandan strongman to the excitement of many Ugandans who had thought a one on one between the two Heads of State was an unrealistic dream.
“I had a discussion on phone the other day with HE Uhuru Kenyatta and Paul Kagame and we agreed to come up with a way of managing the truck drivers since we cannot do a way with them…'” Museveni said on Tuesday.
It ought to be recalled that the already rocky relations between the two former allies intensified in the last two years, climaxing with the closure of borders to Uganda by Rwanda who accused the Kampala administration of supporting Rwandan dissidents with an aim to destablize the small East African country.
Kagame also accuses Museveni of mistreating Rwandan Nationals while in Uganda with scores being arrested on “false” allegations of espionage which prompted him to block his country’s Nationals from coming into the country.
” And then we said since we cannot protect our people while they are in Uganda, we asked them not to go there since it’s the only way we can ensure their safety” Kagame told his subjects in a national address last year.
Whereas all that was revealed by Museveni out of the conversation was solely on how to manage the current Coronavirus crisis, optimists were quick to conclude that a lot more must have indeed been discussed, showing some light at the end of the tunnel for a possible ceasefire which would see the fierce differences between the leaders end without firing a single shot.
During the Katuna border summit by the two President’s in late February, in the presence of their counterparts from DRC and Angola, recommendations had been advanced among which included an investigation by Uganda into the allegations that there Rwandan dissidents operating within Uganda and some senior Ugandan officials helping them out to destablize their home country.
Uganda was to report back to an adhoc-committee of Minister’s formed to oversee the progress of the talks, following which, the borders would be opened , paving way for the return of normalcy. These arrangements were however blocked by Coronavirus which has affected the two countries since mid March.
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