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Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni.
- The Ugandan authorities has deported a number one determine within the banned Rwandan opposition.
- The ban follows the nation’s vow to crack down on “a terrorist outfit”.
- Robert Mukombozi labored as a journalist earlier than going to Rwanda, however fell out with the federal government and has been dwelling in exile.
Uganda mentioned Saturday it had deported a number one determine in a banned Rwandan opposition group, in an additional signal of warming ties between Kampala and Kigali after years of tensions.
The expulsion of Robert Mukombozi of the exiled Rwandan Nationwide Congress (RNC) follows a pledge by the highly effective son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to crack down on what Kigali considers a terrorist outfit.
The presence on Ugandan soil of rebels searching for to topple Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been a long-running sore in relations between the 2 neighbours.
Museveni’s son Muhoozi Kainerugaba mentioned on Twitter that Mukombozi had been expelled, describing him as an “enemy of Rwanda and Uganda” and posting footage of him heading in the direction of a aircraft at Entebbe airport.
Mukombozi, a Rwandan born in Uganda, labored as a journalist with native media earlier than going to Rwanda however fell out with the federal government and has been dwelling in exile in Australia, based on Ugandan intelligence.
It was not instantly identified the place he had been expelled to.
Kainerugaba – the pinnacle of Uganda’s land forces and a particular presidential adviser – mentioned solely he has been “despatched again wherever he got here from”.
Museveni’s son has been instrumental in mending lengthy hostile relations with Kigali, together with holding talks with Kagame that led to the reopening of the land border in January after three years of closure.
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In February, he vowed to halt the “unlawful and legal” actions of the RNC in Uganda, saying the group had almost pushed the 2 nations to a “silly struggle”.
The RNC was based in 2010 by former Rwandan military chief Kayumba Nyamwasa and ex-spy boss Patrick Karegeya who each went into exile in South Africa and have become fierce Kagame critics.
“Gen Kayumba, I’ve warned you adequate. You’re enjoying with my nation and the outcomes might be horrible for you. RNC has completely no area in Uganda,” Kainerugaba tweeted.
Nyamwasa – who had helped Kagame create his ruling Rwandan Patriotic Entrance – survived two assassination makes an attempt in South Africa in 2010, whereas Karegeya was killed in a Johannesburg lodge in 2014.
An inquest into Karegeya’s homicide recommended there could possibly be ties to Kagame’s regime however the Rwandan authorities has denied any involvement.
Though Museveni and Kagame had been shut allies within the Eighties and Nineties, the 2 nations later fell out over mutual accusations of espionage, abductions and assist for rebels.
The Uganda-Rwanda border was abruptly closed in 2019 as tensions spiraled, however was reopened in January this yr in a significant signal of rapprochement.
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