Uganda and Rwanda relationship has taken on a new twist whereby the Rwandan National paper has published an article revealing all the evils that the Ugandan president has allegedly dine. The article entitled On refugees, Museveni is the arsonist that sets fire on a house Museveni is accused of all sorts of evil on Refugees.
The author began by lameneting how the world marked another World Refugee Day (20th June). The plight of the millions that get run out of their countries by wars; the internally displaced persons and all the suffering they endure has been remarked upon, for the umpteenth time.
“Reading about the refugee situation in Uganda in particular, I was struck by the accolades that Kampala heaps upon itself, billing Uganda as “one of the most generous countries” in receiving refugees. “Uganda has continued to maintain an open-door policy to refugees, and doesn’t turn away anybody who is running to us for safety,” said Hilary Onek, Uganda’s Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Refugees, in Geneva in October last year” The author lamented in his article.
Parts of the article have been pasted below
For starters, there would only be a minimal number of people fleeing the DR Congo, not only to Uganda but also to other neighbor states. Museveni’s interest in keeping the vast DR Congo weak and malleable is no secret – always with an eye on plunder of the resource rich country. It has caused conflict that’s resulted in hundreds of thousands of villagers fleeing, to become refugees – very many in Uganda.
No less an authority than the International Court of Justice confirmed this. In 2005, following a lawsuit against Uganda by DRC, the court ruled, “Uganda’s 1998-2003 intervention violated international sovereignty and led to the killing and torture of civilians and the destruction of villages. The president of the court Shi Jiuyong said, “by the conduct of (Uganda’s) armed forces which committed acts of torture, killing and other forms of inhumane treatment of the Congolese civilians, Uganda violated international human rights.”
Yet even after the International Court ordered Uganda to pay DRC US$ 10 billion in damages – with admonitions to desist from further incursions in the neighbor state – Museveni just continued much as before. And refugees have continued to flow because of his backing of terrorist groups such as RNC and FDLR that too kill, rape and torture civilians while looting.
The Ugandan ruler’s constant meddling in Burundi on behalf of President Nkurunziza has denied that country a chance at a peaceful resolution of its problems. The Burundian regime, emboldened by Museveni’s backing has massacred those seeking lawful and orderly resolutions to the current stalemate in their country. That, in turn, has caused more than half a million Burundians to flee to neighboring countries, ever since Nkurunziza’s power grab in 2015 – which had the support of Kampala.
Much misery has befallen South Sudan ever since Museveni decided to meddle into the political process there. When armed conflict broke out between the country’s two main power centers in 2013, Museveni unilaterally sent his army to prop up one side. That was not something that the regional Inter-Governmental Authority had agreed on.
Museveni had once again proven himself a catalyst for endless conflicts that generate endless refugees. One of the remarkable things in all this is how loudly the Ugandan ruler proclaims his supposed generosity in “receiving” refugees. “He is like the arsonist that sets fire on a house, then rushes in with water to claim he is the fire brigade!” commented a regional security analyst.