EDITORIAL: For Rwanda, security comes first: The rest are accessories
Friday, March 22, 2019

A couple of pieces published in this newspaper in the past few days regarding the current Uganda-Rwanda spat seem to have hit a few raw nerves, and rightly so.

Many were outraged because their machinations had been exposed such as the level of Uganda’s involvement with anti-Rwanda dissidents. Nothing that was written was pulled out of thin air; it was accompanied by facts.

The fact that the Ugandan Head of State had received members of the RNC who have declared war on Rwanda was confirmed by the president himself. But what seems to have made Uganda security officials hit the roof was the exposure of the Ugandan passport gifted to Charlotte Mukankusi, a top RNC official.

What we were trying to do was to expose – proof in hand – all the attempts being made to derail any effort to bring normalcy between the two countries. It was definitely clear that for Mukankusi to be given a Ugandan passport, it needed to be sanctioned from the very top.

Rwanda has no interest in there being a rift between the two countries, all that matters is the security of its people and the resolute will to meet any security challenges with whatever means at its disposal.

It is already opening a new chapter with the Democratic Republic of Congo that RwandAir will start direct flights to Kinshasa next month. The election of both Presidents John Magufuli and Uhuru Kenyatta brought a breath of fresh air in relations with Tanzania and Kenya, respectively.

With Burundi, it is still touch-and-go and only time and patience will tell.

As for all those who have been throwing barbs at our direction for the string of embarrassing exposés, brace yourselves, more are on the way. Then you can make your own judgment.