Recent images of innocent Rwandan victims of Ugandas Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI), including babies and a frail female victim who was tortured so much that she required the use of a wheelchair, being dumped at Kagitumba border post by Ugandan authorities were part of a routine that has become too familiar. The two entry points of Gatuna and Kagitumba have practically become a dumping ground where the CMI, deposit their victims in the dead of the night. Even as the new victims lie in Kigali hospitals undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, more reports of Rwandans that continue to be kidnapped and murdered emerge. The Ugandan government has, for the last four years, targeted innocent Rwandan nationals, who refuse to join the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), as well as Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) and similar other terrorist organizations, subjecting them to illegal imprisonment, torture and in many cases murder. There are documented testimonies of victims recounting how they were physically assaulted by senior security and government officials, including General Henry Tumukunde who, during his tenure as security minister, derived some kind of sadistic satisfaction from personally beating up Rwandans detained in the torture houses. Horrendous as they are, there is growing concern that such stories and images of brutality as reported by the news media, may be becoming so regular and routine, the public will become numb and simply move on. It should be made clear, however, that the torturing and killing of Rwandan nationals by the Ugandan security agencies are serious crime and Kampala needs to be held accountable. The mistreatment of Rwandans by the Uganda government has prompted some people outside East Africa, who read these stories, to wonder if there are any Ugandans who live in Rwanda or ever transit through any entry points here. It is true that anyone who isnt conversant with the dynamics of this region could be forgiven to think that there are no Ugandan nationals living in Rwanda. President Museveni himself has confessed that he believes in the law of Moses. Of course, Ugandans living in Rwanda have never made the headlines because there is no comparison with regard to how the two countries treat each others nationals and the government of Rwanda doesnt victimize anybody, national or foreign. There is, perhaps, no better character witness with regard to how well the government of Rwanda has treated Ugandans than the president of Uganda. On an official visit a few years ago, President Museveni met members of the Ugandan community in Rwanda, an event that was well attended. Ugandans who live and work in Rwanda, from a whole range of backgrounds, turned up in large numbers to hear from their president. Understandably, anytime people anywhere are invited to meet their head of state, they will do what it takes to look their best. As soon as he laid his eyes on the audience, Museveni wasnt fooled by the fashions and make ups. He quickly discerned that there was a bigger story behind the beaming faces. In a very honest admission, he asked his audience what exactly Rwanda was feeding them since, he said, they looked much better taken care of than the rest of the population back home. When the story featured in the Ugandan news media, Musevenis political rival Dr Kizza Besigye who, for many years, has accused him of presiding over the most corrupt regime, felt vindicated, wondering why it took the president a trip to Rwanda for him to realize that the people of Uganda were suffering. Indeed, Rwandas record of exemplary treatment of Ugandan nationals is long and well documented, even in times of conflict. On June 30, 2000, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that it had repatriated 28 Ugandan prisoners of war detained in Gitarama, Rwanda. The organization went to confirm that the prisoners had been taken to Rwanda on June 16, 2000 after being captured by Rwandan forces in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo and had been visited by ICRC delegates on June 21. The arrival of the released prisoners caused a stampede in Kampala, where the military top brass accused Kigali of humiliating the Ugandan army, not that their soldiers were ever mistreated during the time they were in custody, but by the way they turned up at Entebbe airport, well dressed in smart uniforms with shining boots, cutting an unmistakable figure of what a soldier should look like. Indeed, the news media there went into overdrive pointing out that their military prisoners of war, after only a few days in Rwanda, looked much better than the rest of the UPDF. Interestingly, the army leaders in Uganda who were feigning anger at the humane treatment their soldiers were accorded, knew that Rwandas human rights code was way superior and had, during the clashes, sought to exploit it for their personal gain. In the fighting where the soldiers were taken prisoner, a top Ugandan general whose wife had gone on a business trip to Kisangani and had been caught up in crossfire, called the Rwandan commander there asking him to help rescue his spouse. Rwandan troops organized her evacuation to Kigali, from where she flew home to her husband. The general didnt reach out to General James Kazini who was in command of the Ugandan troops in Kisangani to take his wife out of harms way, because he didnt trust the ethics of the very force where, to this day, he still serves in the upper echelons. President Museveni and his regime may continue to target and brutalize innocent Rwandan nationals, but Ugandans living in Rwanda will sleep easy in the knowledge that Kigali is the adult in the room.
