Uganda, Rwanda officials meet in Kigali

The Ad Hoc Commission on the implementation of the Luanda Memorandum of Understanding between Rwanda and Uganda today met in Kigali Rwanda for the third time time.

"The Ad Hoc Commission on the implementation of the Luanda Memorandum of Understanding between Rwanda and Uganda meets for the third time today at Rwanda Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in Kigali,” the ministry tweeted on its handle.

The committee was established in August last year in Luanda.

The last meeting, which took place in Kampala last November, hit a dead end after delegates disagreed and referred the issues to President Museveni and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.

Mr Museveni and Mr Kagame met three weeks ago in Angola and agreed to meet again on February 22 at Katuna border.

Queries as Rwanda deports missing Ugandan IT expert

The family of Mr Ivan Peter Egessa, an IT expert, expressed relief yesterday after learning that the Rwandan government, which had detained him since December, had deported him back to Uganda.

Without disclosing his crime, Rwanda’s intelligence yesterday declared Mr Egessa, who had been working in Kigali since 2015, a “prohibited immigrant” and ordered him never to step there again.

For more than a month, the Rwanda government kept Mr Egessa’s relatives and Uganda government in suspense, refusing to respond to all inquiries about his whereabouts.
Sources say he has been held incommunicado by Rwandan security forces until yesterday.

“Take note that you are declared a prohibited immigrant in Rwanda within the meaning of articles 12 and 15 of the law Nº 57/2018 of 13/08/2018 on immigration and emigration in Rwanda,” reads in part the deportation order issued by Francois Regis Gatarayiha, Rwanda’s Director General of Immigration and Emigration, a unit of the country’s National Intelligence and Security Services.

Mr Egessa was deported back to Uganda yesterday and he crossed through Mirama Hills in Ntungamo District. His deportation order was stamped at the border point by Uganda Immigration officials.

Rwanda has remained tight lipped on why security forces arrested Mr Egessa. Uganda last month petitioned Rwanda over the matter but still they refused to respond.
Maj Gen (Rtd) Frank Mugambage, the Rwandan High Commissioner to Uganda, declined to comment on why Mr Egessa was arrested, detained and later deported, saying the issue is with his country’s immigration department.

“Please follow it up with the immigration officials because they have the details,” Gen Mugambagye said. Attempts to speak to Kigali were futile.

Family excited
Ms Annet Ajambo, Mr Egessa’s sister, said she was overwhelmed with emotions at the news of the release.
“Why don’t you call me back later? I am overwhelmed and I don’t know even where to start. They are all calling me even right now,” Ms Ajambo said.

Asked if she knew where the brother was being kept and his alleged crime, she said: “I am yet to get the details but what I know is that he is already in the country and I am going to meet him right now. I will talk to you later,” she said.

Mr Jacob Siminyu, the spokesperson of the Directorate of Immigration and Citizenship, had not responded to our queries by press time as earlier promised.

Both the Information minister, Ms Judith Nabakooba, and the executive director of the Uganda Media Centre, Mr Ofwono Opondo, were unavailable.
Ambassador Patrick Mugoya, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he was not aware that Mr Egessa had been deported.

“I am not aware of where he is. If the immigration department at Mirama hills has stamped his entry, then he is in Uganda. That is good news to us because he has been missing all this time,” Mr Mugoya said.

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