KAMPALA: In a guest that shows a conciliatory tone starting to build between Rwanda and Uganda, President Paul Kagame has released a Ugandan soldier who strayed into Rwandan territory last year.
The release followed a request by the Ugandan Army Commander of the Land Forces and Senior Presidential Advisor for Special Operations Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Gen Muhoozi made the request during his one day visit to Rwanda today.
“I further thank President @PaulKagame for honouring my request to release our SFC soldier, Private Ronald Arinda, who strayed into Rwandan territory on personal business without permission. I returned with him tonight to Uganda. Longlive the friendship of the two countries,” Gen Muhozi tweeted.
Uganda accused Rwandan Security forces of abducting the soldier when he went missing at the border with Rwanda late last year.
Uganda’s military and the country’s top diplomat in Kigali separately confirmed the abduction, which officials said was being handled at the highest levels of government.
It remained unclear whether the arrest by Rwanda security forces of Pte Ronald Arinda, 23, is related to the strained relation between the neighbouring countries or a unilateral action by individual Rwandan security operatives, reported Daily Monitor.
The paper quoted Ms Olivia Wonekha, the then Uganda’s ambassador to Rwanda, saying that Kampala had already sent a diplomatic note to Kigali protesting Pte Arinda’s abduction and was awaiting official response.
“People of Ugandan border communities [with Rwanda] should always take extra care to avoid such incidents,” she said.
The Kabale Resident District Commissioner, Mr Godfrey Nyakahuma, who chairs the district security committee, said: “It’s true our UPDF soldier, Pte Arinda, was [abducted] by the Rwandan security operatives at Omukiyovu Border Trading Centre in Ryakarimira Town Council Kabale District.”
The SFC soldier allegedly taken by Rwandans who lived in Muguli ‘B’ Cell of Kakyerere Ward in Ryakarimira Town Council, Kabale District.
The Ryakarimira chairperson, Mr Enock Kazooba, said the SFC soldier was tricked by Rwandan security informers that live at the border on Ugandan side ostensibly to go and buy cattle.
In the middle of a purported bargain, Rwandan security operatives reportedly emerged and took him away forcibly.
Following the incident, Uganda officials took into custody for interrogation one of its citizens suspected to have betrayed the soldier.
A relative said the abducted soldier planned to buy the cows to pay bride price.
“I thank President @PaulKagame for the very warm reception my delegation and I received in Kigali today. We held very cordial and in-depth discussions about how to improve our bilateral relations,”Gen Muhoozi added in a tweet after landing at Entebbe Airport this evening.
Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has just arrived in Kigali for talks with the Rwandan President Gen Paul Kagame in what looks to be an official assignment by Ugandan President Gen Yoweri Museveni to fix the Rwanda-Uganda problem once and for all.
Gen Muhoozi, who is also Gen Museveni’s son and Advisor on Special Operations, arrived at Kigali International Airport this morning aboard a Uganda Airlines chattered Bombardier plane CR J900.
Gen Muhoozi was received by the Commandant of Rwanda’s Republican Guard, Brig Gen Willy Rwagasana, the Spokesperson of the Rwanda Defence Forces and Kainerugaba’s schoolmate, Brig Gen Ronnie Rwivanga and Ugandan Embassy officials.
The visit came at a time when Ugandan ground and air forces launched blazing attacks on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) camps in Eastern DRC late November, where uniforms and identity cards suspected to belong to the Rwandan army were recovered, a move that left Kigali thinking deeply about its own operations in the vast country.
It also came at a time when the frosty relations between the two countries have not eased and the common border between them is still closed.
“I’m confident that under…the leadership of our two Presidents we shall be able to quickly restore our historical good relations,” Gen Muhoozi concluded in another tweet.