A lot has been said or interpreted on what President Museveni meant during the recent 20th Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda. President Museveni is well known to say what he does not mean and therefore the correct line should be taken in the context of the precedent he has made so far in the last two decades of his rule.

President Museveni is quoted to have said that “We all can witness the economic growth in Rwanda and its stabilization. As a veteran patriot of this area, I would like to warn those who hobnob with the genocidaire to know that they will have to contend with the patriotic forces that defeated the traitors with their external backers when they were still much weaker. We are now much stronger in every sense of the word (politically, militarily, socially and economically). The People of Rwanda should know that they can always count on the People of Uganda. Uganda is steadfast in the support for African emancipation”.

Indeed, President Museveni should be construed in the context of standing shoulder to shoulder with Rwandans not individuals like Kagame. No one knows Kagame better than President Museveni who lost his young soldiers to the hands of the Kagame bandits in both Kisangani 1 and 2 IN 1999 and 2000. The true version of the story of the bloody clashes between Rwandan and Ugandan troops in Kisangani to date is still a mystery to the actual cause despite speculation by journalists and other political commentators because both sides called it some misunderstandings.

Why then Museveni continues to work with Kagame despite his ugly past during the Luwero Bush war that brought President Museveni to power?

The lesser evil, in fact the current situation in Rwanda needs a person of Museveni’s wisdom if you could attempt to remove the character of Kagame from power. The Rwandan leader is so insecure that he could overreact to any matter that could trigger undesired consequences.

But for those who don’t know President Museveni he is the man who hosted President Habyarimana in 1987 at a colorful ceremony on which President Habyarimana decorated the highest rank at the time to Major General Fred Rwigema and assured his counterpart (Habyarimana) at the time that no one can invade Rwanda from Uganda. After just three years, the RPF under the command of Gen. Rwigema attacked Habyarimana, the rest is history.

During the Arusha peace talks where RPF and President Habyarimana signed  the aborted 1993 peace accord,  President Museveni knew very well what would befell the Rwanda leader, never the less they kept hobnobbing and tossing Champagne to each other. In fact at the time of invasion in 1990 both President Museveni and Habyarimana were in New York attending the UN Child Summit where President Museveni in his own words said that he called President Habyarimana to inform him that some of his Rwandan soldiers have escaped and attacked Rwanda.

Was president Museveni caught off guard by the RPF invasion in 1990 as he alleges?

It is now an open secret that the Ugandan leader knew that many Rwandans have been dined the right of return to their Home land and the only option was to use force. Likewise the Ugandan leader is aware of the Kagame’s character not only to Rwandans but his neighbors including Uganda. Whereas Kagame has on a number of occasions said that he is not a diplomat and he says what is on his mind, President Museveni on the contrary is gifted with diplomatic skills and rarely will he say what he means.

In fact, whereas President Kagame has been Killing his political opponents within the country and taking and extreme mile of attacking them where they have sought sanctuary , President Museveni  has allowed his Cols and Generals in opposition to an extend that his former army commander is the  President of the opposition. I will not argue that President Museveni is perfect but he has tolerated at least his opponents to operate even if some will argue that political activities in Uganda are not perfect, but at least political opponents are allowed to see the next sun set.

Again when President Museveni signed the Nairobi peace accord with the then Lutwa government, behind the scenes he was planning an all out war against the same government he was talking peace to. Indeed, he ordered his forces to keep fighting until the Lutwa government was toppled despite the fact that the peace was signed.  Therefore president Museveni’s   speech should be construed objectively and broadly that he will stand with Rwandans who will fight genocidaire and tyrants like Kagame despite talking sugar coated words which Kagame might have interpreted in his favor. But the Ugandan leader despite his short comings does not share the same ideology with killer Kagame who does not spare even a simplistic academic argument. No wonder his academic credentials are not only lacking but do not stand the weather of the post of presidency.

Jacqueline Umurungi

Brussels