Museveni says relations with Rwanda will soon return to normal

President Museveni has said the relations between Uganda and Rwanda that saw the latter close its borders with Uganda will soon be normalized.

Early this week, Museveni sent Uganda’s  Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amb.Adonia Ayebare as a special envoy to President Kagame.

Speaking about the same, Museveni said he is sure the relations between the two neighbouring countries will soon be normalized.

“Ambassador Ayebare was well received by H.E Paul Kagame and they had very fruitful discussions. Soon, the two sides will be taking decisive actions to end the tension,”Museveni said.

“Uganda, I can guarantee, will do its share of the normalization of the relations between our two countries. I salute H.E Kagame, the brotherly people of Rwanda and the people of Uganda.”

Speaking during a televised interview in Kigali on Tuesday, Kagame said Uganda will have to work on the issues put across by Rwanda if there is to be a ray of hope in normalizing the relations between the two countries.

The frosty relations between Uganda and Rwanda that had gone on for a couple of years finally became pronounced in March last year when Rwanda closed its borders with her immediate neighbor, Uganda.

The two presidents of Rwanda and Uganda in August signed an agreement in Angola to ease months of tensions after the two leaders exchanged accusations against each other but there has been slow progress in the implementation of the agreement so as to ensure a return to normalcy of the relations.

Last month, the second meeting between Uganda and Rwanda to follow up on the implementation of the Luanda peace pact hit a dead end as both countries failed to agree on anything.

The delegations referred the matter to their respective presidents to handle.

Rwanda accuses Uganda of offering succor to two foreign Rwanda rebel groups including Rwanda National Congress (RNC) led by South Africa-based Kayumba Nyamwasa and Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) but the Kampala establishment denies the same.

“There is no reason whatsoever and Uganda will not try to subvert the government of Rwanda. We have no reason, we have no benefit,” Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kutesa said last month.

The Kigali establishment also accuses Uganda of arresting a number of their citizens here in Uganda, deporting some of them, whereas others are detained in Uganda.

Kutesa said all those arrested were spies trying to infiltrate Uganda’s security forces and that they had been arrested legally.

“One of the issues Uganda raised was the infiltration of our security agencies by the Rwandan government and its people. It is the reason for arrest and detention of people because we think they have been on an infiltration exercise,”Kutesa said.