One would have hoped that we had seen the last of it, at least from a government publication. Had it been from the usual suspects – online tabloids well-known for their rants about Rwanda and its leadership – it would have been understandable. But New Vision? No.

How can it create a story out of thin air to claim that Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye had met President Paul Kagame on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York?

One would tend to wonder what the motive was of trying to lure Rwanda into Ugandan politics, but whatever the case, it is a dangerous trend that should not be left unchecked.

The resolutions of the Kigali meeting, which followed an MoU signed in Angola, specifically states that hostile propaganda was one of the prerequisites to mending relations between the two countries.

Someone is willfully sabotaging the peace talks by blatantly promoting falsehoods on the front page of a government publication and it will be surprising if they ever put the record straight.

And even if it was true and Kagame had met Besigye, it would not have been something out of the ordinary. The latter is a recognized opposition leader and not a member of a hostile armed group whose sole drive is to violently overthrow the government in place, as the case of Rwanda National Congress (RNC).

The only thing now remaining for mediators to do is publicly name-and-shame obstacles to the peaceful resolution of the conflict. Maybe that is the only language they will understand.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com