After weeks of silence, President Museveni has finally opened up on the bad relations with Rwanda, through a letter to his counterpart President Paul Kagame, denying claims that Uganda helps rebels opposed to Rwanda.
According to the letter, Museveni said he only recently came into contact with a lady Charlotte Mukankusi, who admitted to being a member of the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), an organisation that Kagame has said is hostile to Rwanda.
He says: “Mukankusi told me that he husband Rutagarama had been killed by the agents of the Rwanda state…that she had been told by those very people [who killed her husband]. I then asked her what she wanted me to do about it because it was an internal matter. She told me she wanted me to know bad things that were happening in Rwanda. She told me she had joined RNC to resist Your Excellency’s government. She wanted us to support them.”
But Museveni told her he could not support her because the African Union is against countries interfering in the affairs of other countries.
“She was disappointed with my reply and I told her that I will inform you in writing,” he writes.
In the letter, Museveni also speaks about the Rwanda businessman Tribert Rujugiro, whom Kagame accuses of financially supporting rebels. Rwanda had demanded that the businessman be repatriated to Kigali for trial.
“Mr Rujugiro..seems to be resisting the idea of selling his businesses which he had accepted to do before. He countered the idea of giving money to Kayumba [Nyamwasa] by saying that even if he sells the factories in Uganda, he still has more lucrative factories in Angola, Dr Congo..a total of eight of them. He can send money from those,” Museveni writes.
He said if Rujugiro is still a problem to Rwanda, Uganda can use courts of law to try him on charges of terrorism and then his assets can be frozen.