Museveni, Kagame exchanged letters

Museveni also noted that even after this, he had asked Rujugiro to sell his business and leave and the latter had agreed. He added that just before he wrote the letter, he had called and asked Rujugiro about the same and Rujugiro had said that he had not yet found a buyer giving him a good price for the business. Then Museveni said that he was proposing to Kagame that any of the Rwandan government owned businesses should offer Rujugiro a good price and he leaves.

On the issue of Burundi, Museveni said that while at their meeting in Addis, he had offered to help mediate issues between Rwanda and Burundi but Kagame had refused. He said he was proposing again that Kagame accepts his request and he mediates the issues between Rwanda and Burundi.

On the issue of Rwandans who are arrested in Uganda, Museveni said these would be produced in court. He said that these were spying for Rwanda. He said that Rwandan intelligence was trying to infiltrate Uganda without coordinating with Ugandan intelligence.

He said that if Rwanda felt any security threat, they should be willing to coordinate with Uganda and Uganda helps if there are elements trying to fight Rwanda. But for the Rwandan government to send elements to conduct private intelligence missions in Uganda was a big problem, Museveni wrote.

Museveni wrote this in September. Kagame had not replied by the time tensions started escalating.

The climax of this escalation appeared on Feb.28 when Ugandan customs officials raised concerns that Rwanda had closed the Katuna border.

Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister, Richard Sezibera called a presser and insisted that Rwanda had not closed the border. Instead, he said, the border was under renovation. But Ugandan authorities insisted Rwanda had closed the border, halting trade between the two countries.

Uhuru Kenyatta intervenes

This escalation, insiders say, is what forced President Uhuru Kenyatta to embark on what many see as diplomatic efforts to normalcy between the two countries or at least prevent them from going to war.

The East African Community secretariat appears paralysed and unable to arbitrate; partly because its chairman; Kagame, is a disputant.

Insiders however say, while in Rwanda Uhuru told his counterpart that even if Rwanda has troubled dealings with Kampala, closing the border was an extreme measure.

Earlier, Kagame had been on a two-day visit to Tanzania to meet President John Magufuli. Apparently, Magufuli relayed the same message.

Following Kenyatta’s visit, the central question is whether this or any diplomatic effort can resolve the border incident. The main act now appears to be Kagame acting tough versus Museveni acting indifferent.

Museveni is consistently acting indifferent, some insiders claim. But days before Uhuru’s mediation effort, Museveni in what some saw as a veiled salvo at Kigali told business people in Mbalala Mukono where he was commissioning factories that Uganda is stable and anyone attempting to destabilise would be shown its capacity.

“It is big,” Museveni said, “once we mobilise, you cannot survive if you are a trouble-maker.”

Kagame responded almost immediately.

“When I hear somebody say ‘no one can destabilise our country’, I agree. No one should actually be destabilising that country, but that country should also not be destabilising others. I think it is fair deal, isn’t?”

President Paul Kagame has responded with shuttle diplomacy. He has travelled to Tanzania and met Magufuli. The Independent also understands that when President Kagame left Tanzania Magufuli talked to President Museveni and the issue of the border came up. What they spoke about remains tightly guarded.