Kigali on Sunday evening handed over to the authorities in Kampala a Ugandan soldier who was intercepted on Rwanda soil on Saturday morning, a military source confirmed to APA on Monday.
The Rwandan military said that the soldier, identified as Private Bukuru Muhuba, who was armed, was arrested in Cyanika Sector, Burera district in the Northern Province.
“On 12 June 21, at approximately 1445hrs, an RDF Day patrol intercepted a Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) soldier identified as Pte Bakuru MUHUBA who was on Rwandan soil in Northern Province, Burera District, Cyanika sector, Kamanyana cell, Majyambere village,”
“He was dressed in Ugandan army camouflage uniform, armed with a Medium Machine Gun (MMG) with its 100 rounds, 01 Binocular, 01 cell phone and his military Identification documents. RDF is in the process of repatriating him,” the short statement read.
The handover took place at Cyanika border post on the evening of June 13, where the soldier admitted to making a mistake while on duty on patrol with his colleagues, finding himself accidentally crossing the border into Rwanda, it said.
His confiscated items, including the MMG, ammunition and other items, were handed over to the Ugandan government during a ceremony attended by Cpt Peter Mugisha, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Kisoro district.
During the handover, the senior officer of the Ugandan army has apologized to the government of Rwanda, saying that what happened was a mistake, assuring his Rwandan counterparts that such a mistake of violation of territory will not happen again.
Since 2019, a diplomatic feud between Uganda and Rwanda has stalled activity at their usually busy border crossings.
CU/as/APA