President Yoweli Museveni of Uganda
From Rwanda, President Yoweri Museveni’s Ugandan government expects preferential, not ordinary consideration. For historical reasons, Uganda feels Rwanda owes it VIP treatment. Brian Mukalazi, author of an opinion article, “Uganda-Rwanda stand-off: a tale of two brothers in arms”, published by Daily Monitor on October 21, said openly quoting a retired Ugandan commander what President Museveni behind the scenes continues to tell his people. That ‘we used to look at RPF as young sons, not even brothers’. Bully attitude if you ask me, but that is neither a complaint from me, nor is it my argument here.
In his own words Mukalazi himself went on to say that “when recalling the past, the Ugandans dwell on the way the NRA had welcomed the Banyarwanda into its ranks. And for that they still believe that the Rwandans owe them their (July 1994 liberation)victory”. To Rwandans, this too is unacceptable overbearance, cousins with bully behavior. He continues to complete his tale by saying that “On their part, what the Banyarwanda remember, instead, was the NRA’s reliance on them to do its dirtiest fighting, and the sense of having always been unwelcome in alien territory”. Mwakabimenye se! http://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda-rwanda-stand-off-tale-of-two-brothers.
Uganda did not do a favor to RPF but paid debt
The image painted by Mukalazi of a Uganda always habouring misplaced feelings that the Rwanda Patriotic Front victory is owed to them, and the latter thinking it should instead be the other way round is accurate. While on one hand the National Resistance Movement wants RPF to forever sing the thanksgiving hymn for alleged favors received between 1990 and 1994 as eventual victors struggled, on the other in Kigali the ruling Party strongly believes whatever President Museveni’s government gave them was a kind of debt payment. Rwabuze gica.
Since there will never be an outright winner in this chicken-and-egg-like debate, the way out of the stalemate is for either side to feel nothing is owed to them. Let Uganda from now onwards expect zero gratitude from Rwanda, and vice versa, apart from bilateral trade for mutual national gain on agreeable terms. There should be no more reference,for example, to the fire arms picked up from Uganda’s armouries by Rwandan fighters who deserted the National Resistance Army prior to 01 October 1990 as they headed towards Kagitumba. Likewise, Rwanda will be expected to desist from reminding Uganda of the blood that was shed by their kith and kin during the NRA’s five-year (1981–1986) bush war, and thereafter during the insurgencies in northern and eastern Uganda that threatened to derail stabilization and reconstruction.
‘Habumuremyi’ and his inspirer M7 lost 0-5 like Man U
Talking about what needs to change on both sides for the sake of getting back on track to restore good bilateral relations, contents of an open letter addressed to President Kagame come to mind. Written by someone who decided to use the pseudo name of Jean Damascene Habumuremyi to appear Rwandan, and pseudo location of Byumba to show he lives in Rwanda, the letter ran in the commandonepost.com, publication on 22 October 2021. It made bizarre pro-Uganda arguments by a false Rwandan passionately pleading with his President in whimsical manner to open the border. Generally he claimed the Rwanda head of state was the one on the wrong side of issues on which differences running deep between Kigali and Kampala are premised.http://commanonepost.com/index.php/2021/10/22/an-open-letter-to-paul-kagame-on-closure-of-the-border-and-the-continued-guhangana/.
One thing that must have come out clearly to whoever read the article, is the raw Ugandaness of the writer throughout the story. The link provided above allows you to see for yourself how in disguising his true identity he had started well, much like Manchester United against Liverpool for those who watched the Sunday evening game (remember their early good chance wasted by Bruno Fernandes). Half way through the article though, in similar fashion to that match at Old Trafford by half time,Habumuremyi’s mask was already off, his pants well down. Both his face and behinds were exposed, painted in the black-yellow-red colours, complete with the crested crane conspicuously inscribed in the middle. Sadly he was not aware. Truth is, by the time he wound up his belaboured narration, he along with the beleaguered Ugandan President whose case he was arguing had lost 0-5. Moral lesson: to straight people, act straight.
At the end of the long opinion piece, we were reading spurious stuff for fun, not for learning anything worthwhile. This too made a striking similarity between the open letter and the Sunday afternoon contest by England’s two most successful football clubs. When the referee blew the final whistle, Liverpool had for long been conducting a training session, not playing a competitive game. That is how easy it was for Liverpool, how easy it was to smoke out the faker from his pseudo name hiding.
Truthfulness is in Rwanda’s DNA
To show how hopeless he sounded, let me quote for you one of the many strange statements by Habumuremyi (probably Katurebe, Nuwamanya or Byabagambi). It went like: “While I agree that enemies shouldn’t be given room, I also think that we (Rwanda) as a country sometimes fire misguided missiles. I strongly believe it’s us trying to make Uganda an enemy, not them being one”. Ngaho Nawe Nyumvira!
Question to this Katurebe-Nuwamanya-Byabagambi writer who calls himself Habumuremyi: In February 2010 when President Museveni dispatched Gen. SalimSaleh and Gen. Kale Kayihura to pick up General Kayumba Nyamwasa from the common border as he fled the country and law to go link up with Col. Patrick Karegeya(R.I.P) for immediate formation of an anti-Rwanda armed rebel group, was that Rwanda “trying to make Uganda an enemy”? http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/museveni-was-always-looking-moles-rwanda-say-officers-who-worked-kayumba-nyamwasa/. Surely that action was taken in absolute bad faith against Rwanda. Unless Uganda is addicted to bad things like Himbara David, it must otherwise stop it.
Here is a simple and straight message for the likes of Katurebe-Nuwamanya-Byabagambi a.k.a Habumuremyi to reckon. Border closure is only a symptom, not the problem between Rwanda and Uganda, and the latter knows it. Rwanda is not one to sweep rubbish under the carpet, and for this key reason, Uganda will have to give serious attention to the issues on its table as raised by Rwanda. Without that, in principle rest assured there is no number of articles Ugandan publishers will run under pseudo names that will coerce the administration in Kigali into skipping this RPF core value of truthfulness. Count it on our DNA. Kandi ni uko twabaye ntiduteze guhinduka!
