Museveni-Kagame rivalry fuels conflict

INSIDE THE UGANDA-RWANDA CONFLICT:
Keen observers of events in the Great Lakes region put the antagonism between Uganda and Rwanda down to two men- Presidents Yoweri Museveni and Paul Kagame.
Personal rivalry and the desire to dominate the region has soured relations between the two.

The problem is said to date back to 1996, during the first Congo war (1996-1997) when the two supported Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
However, once in office Kabila refused to dance to either leader's tunes, which set in another effort by the two to topple him.

But then, there was a dispute over military strategy and this set the Uganda-Rwanda alliance crumbling as Museveni supported Jean-Pierre Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) rebel group while Rwanda backed, and controlled the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD - Kisangani) group.

The battles in Kisangani between UPDF and RPA in Aug 1999, March 2000, and May 2000 saw the rivalry spill over.
Heavy losses on the UPDF side set Museveni seething, blaming Rwanda for the clashes.

Then, individuals opposed to both regimes started fleeing across the borders. Rwandan speaker of Parliament Joseph Sebarenzi Kabuye and Maj. Alphonse Furuma fled to Kampala where the latter issued a statement very critical of Kagame.

In June 2001, UPDF renegade officers Samson Mande, Anthony Kyakabale fled to Rwanda later followed by Col. Edison Muzoora.
From Kigali, Mande also issued a letter accusing Museveni of having departed from the bush war ideals.
Since then, both leaders publicly accused each other of backing and training armed groups.

Efforts were started for the Presidents to hold periodic meetings to thaw relations that had taken a dramatic dose dive. By Dec 2001, the two leaders had held four meetings in London.
But the problem became personal when in the 2001 Presidential election in Uganda, Rwanda allegedly funded President Museveni's rival Kiiza Besigye.

President Museveni had propelled President Kagame’s Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) to power in Kigali and come to his rescue when the RPF was stuck and surrounded in Congo. To support his rival constituted the highest form of betrayal.