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.

President Museveni endorsed that Rwanda be listed as a hostile country. Museveni then wrote his now infamous letter to British Overseas Development Minister Clare Short, seeking to raise defence expenditure to thwart a threat from President Kagame who was using dissident Uganda army officers to recruit and train rebels in three camps in Rwanda.
To Kagame's outrage, Museveni referred to Rwandan leadership as ideologically bankrupt.

The British hastily convened a meeting in London between the two leaders and the matter was closed. Or was it?
It was pointed out at that time that whereas the Ugandan government sought to end tensions created by the letter, Kagame was not yet prepared to.

"Anybody can judge from the content of the letter who is the cause of the problem," he told the BBC after the meeting.
Neither Ugandan nor Rwandan peoples want war.]

They do not even understand how the two countries could think of training dissidents or even threaten war!
The socio-economic relations between the countries are like no other and the Uganda-Rwanda history is unique.

The cream of Rwandan leadership grew up, studied in Uganda and fought the NRA bush war. The NRA, of which a few Rwandans, including Kagame, were founding members, brought Museveni to power in 1986.

In turn, the war that brought the RPF to power was supported by Uganda and the RPA was even considered an extension of the Ugandan army.
Analysts say nothing but the big egos of the two is at the heart the current conflict - one trying to play big brother, the other eager to prove he's outgrown small brother status.

Kagame accuses Museveni of imposing authority on Kigali. At the London meeting mediated by the British, Kagame reportedly said Rwanda would continue fighting to prevent its leadership being looked down upon.

On the other hand, Museveni accuses Kagame of disrespect and seeking to see his overthrow by aiding NRM opposition.
Keen watchers now hold a view that the agreements signed by Museveni and Kagame to improve relations were not conclusive and to the satisfaction of both.

They did not address the critical issues at the heart of their differences, and lacked the sincerity necessary to translate into real long-term solutions.
Once called the new breed of African leaders who would deliver stability, peace and prosperity in the volatile Great Lakes Region, Museveni and Kagame have disappointed heavily.