President Paul Kagame on a Special Visit to Uganda: But Why?

Kagame believes that once his rebels are well hidden in Uganda, they will be beyond the reach of the DRC authority.

(WASHINGTON DC) - The Congolese Government’s reaction against the continued support of Rwanda to their enemies in the Congo has led President Kagame back to Uganda to plead for help from His Excellence Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

He was in Uganda yet again in order to seek help because he has nowhere else to turn to this time. The main reason for President Kagame’s visit is to ask for President Museveni to allow Kagame’s (M23 Rebels) fighting in the Congo to cross over and hide in Uganda while the UN and the Congolese government investigate Kagame’s actions against the Congolese Nationals. Sources held indicate that President Kagame is unsettled and anxious due to the warnings he received from US and UK diplomats. He was warned on DRC issues and informed that the US was going to work hand in hand in the DRC in order for the region to stabalize. Also, President Kagame was warned to reconsider the situation regarding the political prisoners he is holding which has led for Kagame feeling unsettled and thus is very likely to release them.

Kagame believes that once his rebels are well hidden in Uganda, they will be beyond the reach of the DRC authority. The government of Uganda will put them under protective custody just like they did to Gen. Gad Ngabo of FPLC rebels.

Kagame’s plan is to then claim his innocence with the rebels and Museveni will deny investigators any access to them. Museveni will then mediate between Kagame and Kabila to temporally give Kagame opportunity to be let-off the international radar as the de-stabilizer of the Congo.

Museveni is considering this as an opportunity to mediate the fuelling conflict. Kagame is sponsoring the shedding of the blood of the people of the DRC and manipulating President Kabila by pretending to engage in dialogue. Essentially,” burning the house and calling the fire brigade.”

These kinds of secret meetings between Kagame and Museveni about the DRC have been happening since 1998 in the Rwakitura and Mweya Safari lodge. However, Kagame turned and slaughtered numerous Ugandan troops under Muhoozi’s Special Unit. It is evident that Museveni is a peaceful man who wishes peace for the entire region which could still be the reason for his continued support that turns around to become a disappointment to the blood-thirsty Kagame.

The most likely scenario is getting him killed so that he does not release information to the ICC. The second scenario is to allow him cross the border with the rest of the M23 rebels and be ‘arrested’ by the Ugandan authorities and then be held like Gen Laurent Nkunda. Kagame will claim he has nothing to do with Ntaganda. The understanding is that Uganda will resist handing over Ntaganda to ICC. Facts:

Ntaganda was sent by Kagame to Ituri to fight for Lubanga (Hema) supported by Rwanda against Lendu supported by Uganda.

At that time Kiiza Besigye’s rebels who were supported by President Kagame were also on the side of the Hema and Lubanga.

The question is why would President Museveni protect a proxy commander (Ntaganda) who was used by Rwanda to kill Ugandan soldiers in Ituri?

Why should Museveni put Uganda’s credibility on the line to protect a war criminal who ordered James Kabareebe to kill countless Ugandan soldiers in Congo?

Has Museveni forgotten that Kagame betrayed him and tried to kill him? Would Museveni so easily forget and rest assured that the betrayal will not be repeated.

Are Ugandans so blind not to realize that Rwanda/Kagame is shifting the burden on to Uganda?

Would Kagame do the same for Museveni when it is common knowledge that over the years, Ugandan opposition was bankrolled by Kagame?

Kagame is insensitive to the Tutsi of Congo though he claims to be their savior. He has inflicted pain on them and involved them in endless wars and does not mind how many of them die, are displaced, raped or disappear. To Kagame, as long as the chaos allows him to plunder the riches and places him in a position of diplomatic influence in the region then he does not mind about what happens to the Tutsi of Congo.

The tired and outdated reason given by Kagame’s government of hunting the FDLR no longer sells because the founders and leaders of FDLR have already joined Rwandan government. Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's foreign minister has stated as of late that the DRC is blaming Rwanda erroneously for their own problems. She wrote on twitter that, “"Rwanda should not be used as a scapegoat to distract and deflect attention away from DRC's domestic problems.”

According to James Kabareebe the FDLR has almost been eliminated, so where did the thousands go? We are told the FDLR committed genocide in Rwanda yet have not had any of the FDLR troops tried in genocide cases.

Although the government of Rwanda has denied involvement in DRC and Uganda may help them save face but the war crimes will always remain. Despite being the ‘Darling of the West’, one day Kagame will be held accountable for his crimes against humanity. What is astonishing is why should Museveni again involve Uganda in Kagame’s fiasco? One wonders if it is just to stop the funding from Kagame to Besigye. What a price to pay!

Our investigations indicate that the M23 is likely to be heading to Uganda if President Museveni accepts the request from Kagame; Most of the M23 commanders being Rwandese origins have entered Rwanda and others on boarders, however they cannot attack DRC from Rwanda anymore because they are the main suspects of destabilizing the region. We call for the international community to support the United Nations in order to continue the Good job they have been doing and to keep their promises arrive as indicated in the UN mandate. (http://enoughproject.org/blogs/u-turn-time-us-uk-change-rwanda-policy)

Jennifer Fierberg is a social worker in the US working on peace and justice issues in Africa with an emphasis on the crisis in Rwanda and throughout the central region of Africa. Her articles have been published on many humanitarian sites that are also focused on changing the world through social, political and personal action.

Jennifer has extensive background working with victims of trauma and domestic violence, justice matters as well as individual and family therapy. Passionate and focused on bringing the many humanitarian issues that plague the African Continent to the awareness of the developed world in order to incite change. She is a correspondent, Assistant Editor, and Volunteer Coordinator for NGO News Africa through the volunteer project of the UN. Jennifer was also the media co-coordinator and senior funding executive for The Africa Global Village. You can write to Jennifer at jfierberg@ymail.com. Jennifer comes to www.Salem-News.com with a great deal of experience and passion for working to stop human right violation in Africa.