When Rwanda’s Paul Kagame met his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni at the border post in Gatunda on Friday, many of their citizens heaved a huge sign of relief, convinced that the state of blood between the two countries may be ending.
The year-long crisis had left its toll on the economies of both countries especially after Kigali shut down this border crossing to Uganda, stifling trade.
In June last year, queues of lorries attempting to enter Rwanda from Uganda stretched for more than two miles as the blockade came into effect and left cross border trade seriously undermined.
Thus traders who shuttle back and forth are usually the first to celebrate any thaw in relations.
Kinshasa and Luanda are taking credit for helping to ease the rising tensions between Uganda and Rwanda.
Since August last year, both President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola and Félix Antoine Tshisekedi have been in regular contact with Kampala and Kigali to offer proposals for a diplomatic solution to their long-lasting feud.
Kigali and Kampala accused each other of backing their dissidents, accusations both sides have repeatedly denied.
Kigali even issued a travel advisory against its citizens travelling to Uganda, claiming those who did so have been detained under inhumane conditions and even tortured.
But over the last one month, things may have improved somewhat after several rounds of talks at ministerial level.
Ahead of the fourth Quadripartite Heads of State Summit which took place at Gatuna border crossing between the two countries, Uganda released 22 more Rwandans citizen charged with spying.
Officials in Kigali say that more than 100 Rwandans are still incarcerated in Uganda.
Kampala has gone even further to cancell the passport of Charlotte Mukankusi, the Commissioner for Diplomacy in the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), a dissident group.
Rwanda’s Minister of State in Charge of East African Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe who was part of high-level Rwandan delegation at the last round of talks has hailed the Ugandan government’s resolve to revoke the dissident’s passport in one single action.
Although Rwanda looked at this development as a positive step by Uganda towards improving relations, Rwandan officials hold that ties with Kampala have nothing to do with the border issue.
Speaking last month at a diplomatic luncheon in Kigali, President Kagame explained that not only the cause of the breakdown in relations between Rwanda and Uganda was triggered by the illegal detention of Rwandans in Uganda nearly three years ago.
By his reckoning it stemmed from Kampala’s reported support of armed groups fighting the government of Rwanda.
“Even without borders — let’s suppose borders were removed in the East African Community. For Rwanda, we have Tanzania to the east, Burundi to the south, DRC to the west, Uganda to the north,” Kagame said, explaining how even without borders, neighbouring homes still have issues.
“We have had hundreds of Rwandans arrested in Uganda. And we have raised this matter with the Ugandan authorities,” he said.
At the other end of the spectrum, ‘The Chronicles’, one of the independent newspaper publishing in Kigali noted that Museveni continues to insist that “there is no fundamental problem with Rwanda”.
Museveni even barred Ugandan officials in Kampala from commenting on the feud.
Instead, Uganda’s concerns have constantly been published in obscure websites, all of which, Rwanda says are owned by Ugandan intelligence, said ‘The Chronicles’.
CU/as/APA