Museveni cut Kagame lunch, Rwanda insists
By David Kibirige
September 30, 2003
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RWANDA�Only President Museveni skipped lunch in Kigali after the inauguration of President Paul Kagame, Rwandan officials have said. Museveni left shortly after Mr Kagame was sworn in for a seven-year term at Amahoro Stadium. Rwandan Prime Minister Bernard Mukuza saw him off at the airport. Kagame was sworn in September 12 at a ceremony attended by nine regional leaders. Rwanda�s Chief of Protocol, M. Zepher Mutanguha, yesterday refuted Kampala�s claims that even the Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo did not attend the luncheon. �It was only President Museveni among the heads of state who did not wait for lunch. President Obasanjo waited and was served,� Mutanguha said. Kagame won the August election with 95.05 percent of the vote. Museveni was given a standing ovation at the inauguration. Kagame�who came to a refugee camp in Uganda aged four�thanked African countries that helped Rwandan refugees in their hour of need. The Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), headed by the late Maj. Gen. Fred Rwigyema, invaded Rwanda on October 1 1990 and later toppled the government of Juvenile Habyarimana. After the inauguration ceremony, Kagame hosted his guests at his office in uptown Kigali. Museveni skipped the luncheon. He also didn�t have any formal talks with Kagame, to the chagrin of Rwanda government officials who thought the two leaders would use the opportunity to make up. At the weekend, Museveni�s Press Secretary Ms Mary Karooro Okurut tried to play down the incident. She said even the Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo left before lunch. A senior official on the inauguration committee in Kigali also dismissed Karooro�s claims as total lies. �I am surprised that people in Kampala are trying to confuse the world. President Obasanjo was the last to leave� In fact, although he was supposed to go to Sierra Leone, he said it was not proper in the African culture to refuse to have lunch in one�s home. He stayed and had lunch with all other heads of state,� the official said. �For reasons best known by our neighbour, brother and others, he [Museveni] did not have lunch in Kigali. That is to put the record straight,� he said. Museveni allegedly was not amused by the presence in Kigali of former first deputy Prime Minister, Eriya Kategaya, East African Assembly Secretary General, Amanya Mushega, and former Army Commander, Maj. Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu. The trio is opposed to the amendment of the Constitution to allow Museveni run for a third term. Other leaders in Kigali were: Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), Bakili Muluzi (Malawi), Domitien Ndayizeyi (Burundi), and Blaise Campaore (Burkina Faso). Countries that were represented include: Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia and DR Congo. The Kigali debacle is a dent to efforts by the two countries to mend the strained relations. The onetime allies turned foes after the two countries� armies fought endless battles in the DR Congo between 1998 and 2001. In February 2001, Uganda declared Rwanda a hostile nation. The two countries almost went to war, but the then British Secretary for Overseas Development, Clare Short intervened in time. |
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
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