
KAMPALA/KIGALI – President Yoweri Museveni in a letter to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame admitted that he interacted with Rwandan dissidents and fugitives who are working to destabilize the East African smallest country.
The admission was contained in a letter addressed to President Paul Kagame, also published in the media.
Among the dissidents hosted by Mr. Museveni include Tribert Rujugiro and Charlotte Mukankusi, the Head of Diplomacy of Rwanda National Congress (RNC), an organization implicated in the spate of grenade attacks in Kigali between 2010 and 2013 that killed several Rwandans and injured many more.
“I am writing to let you know that by accident, I, at last, had a meeting with a Rwandan who admitted to being a member of the group you told me about – Rwanda National Congress (RNC). This is a lady known as Mukankusi,” the letter by Museveni read in part.
Museveni added: “Mr. Rujugiro also came, separately.”
The letter came as a surprise to many owing to the fact that Mr. Museveni had repeatedly denied supporting or even knowing of the Rwandan dissidents.
Mr. Museveni, however, denied providing to support to any of the two.
“I told her [Mukankusi] we could not support them because what was happening in Rwanda was an internal matter of Rwanda.” Museveni wrote.
However, a local daily in Kigali alleges that three weeks before their meeting on March 1, 2019, Ms. Mukankusi was issued a Ugandan Passport No A00019997.
Rwanda has continually presented the concerns about the hostility towards its citizens through all channels, including ‘pre-set diplomatic avenues’, but with no breakthrough.
At the highest level, President Kagame, on three occasions, last year met with his Ugandan counterpart to discuss the concerns. They included support to dissidents and ‘illegal’ arrests and torture of Rwandans in Uganda.