Exclusive: Kampala Awaits Kigali’s List of Rwandans Jailed in Uganda

The government of Rwanda has not yet sent to Kampala a list of its citizens it says are jailed in Uganda.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame last week said there was compelling evidence of thousands of Rwandans being thrown in jails by Ugandan security services.

He said the jailed Rwandans are usually denied trial or even consular visits.

Kagame said this was one of the main reasons for the deterioration of relations between the two countries.

Uganda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa on September 16 led a delegation of officials to meet with their Rwandan counterparts in Kigali to deescalate tensions.

It was agreed that another meeting be held after 30 days (October 16).

However, Kutesa later told journalists in Kampala that the meeting is now slated for November 18.

Rwandan Minister for Regional Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe and President Kagame reacted angrily over the change of date, saying they were “not consulted” and that they first got the information about this development from Ugandan papers.

It’s the investigative website, ChimpReports, which broke news about the change of date.

Minister Kutesa explained that the Kampala meeting failed to take place because Angolan President João Lourenço, who is a key guarantor, was pre-occupied with official duties.

During the talks in Kigali, Rwanda insisted that its people who are reportedly in Ugandan jails should be released.

Uganda asked Rwanda to provide a list of the people it says are held in Ugandan jails.

Actually Uganda thought Rwanda would provide the list during the meeting in Kigali but it was not included in the documents shared by Rwandan authorities. 

Rwandan officials promised to send the list “soon” for “verification” and consideration by Ugandan authorities.

As of this Tuesday, Kampala was yet to receive from Kigali the list of jailed Rwandans.

“The Rwandan government was supposed to send the list before the second meeting in Kampala (now scheduled for November 18,2019) for verification but it’s nowhere,” said a source.

Rwandan authorities rarely respond to questions from Ugandan media.

But a Rwandan official told ChimpReports on condition of anonymity because she’s not authorized to speak to the press that Kigali changed its mind on sending the list of alleged detainees to Uganda.

“Our people here in government told their counterparts in Kampala that Uganda knows who is in their prisons,” said a Rwandan official.

The developments underscore the growing tensions between the two countries.

Failure to send the list could further delay the resolution of contentious issues at the heart of the two neighbours’ poor relations.

ChimpReports understands Uganda continues to host millions of illegal immigrants from Rwanda.

Many of them are not known to Rwanda as they cross into Uganda via illegal border crossings to look for jobs.

Others come to Uganda under the guise of visiting relatives but never return home.

On Tuesday, Uganda also protested in the “strongest terms the “high handedness” and “murder” of Ugandans by Rwandan security forces.

In a protest letter handed to Rwandan envoy to Uganda Frank Mugambage, Uganda protested the “shootings by Rwandan Security Personnel that continue to occur along the common shared Uganda-Rwanda border.”

The protest came just hours after Rwandan handed over the bodies of two Ugandans who were gunned down by Rwandan security forces in Tabagwe Sector, Nyagatare District this past Sunday.

Rwanda didn’t apologize or show remorse for the shootings with its police saying the unarmed Ugandans were “violent” hence the security forces’ decision to kill them.

The deceased Ugandans were identified as Job Byarushanga of Kiruhura Cell, Kamwezi Sub-County, Rukiga District and Bosco Tuhirirwe of Kabira Cell, Kamwezi Sub-County Rukiga District.

However, Uganda said the alleged crime “cannot justify the high handed and criminal act by the Rwandan security personnel, against unarmed civilians residing along the common border,” adding, “Furthermore, the Ministry notes that these murders are inimical to the ongoing efforts to improve relations between the two countries.”

The spokesman for Kigezi regional police, Mr Elly Maate said in a statement that upon re-examination of the bodies, the regional police surgeon team established that Ebyarishanga was shot in the chest and head while Tuhirwe was shot in the chest and ribs.

“The re-examination report shows that the two were executed at a close range using a gun most likely a pistol,” said Maate.

Uganda has since demanded that a joint investigation in the murders be conducted and the perpetrators held accountable.