The whereabouts of two Rwandans – Sendegeya Theogene and Magezi Emmanuel who went missing in Uganda last year – are unknown. Their disappearance, according to their family members, followed arrest by soldiers of the Mbarara-based UPDF Second Division. According to the relatives of Sendegeya and Magezi, the two were abducted and simply taken away. There were no charges brought against them. There were no arrest warrants shown them. They suffered the usual abduction by Uganda’s security agencies. As usual the diplomatic mission of Rwanda in Kampala was not notified, which is in violation of international norms. At the beginning of last month the Government of Rwanda took the extra-ordinary step to warn its citizens against travel to Uganda. Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera cited the reasons as unlawful arrests, incarceration with no access to consular visits and a litany of other hostile acts suffered by Rwandan citizens at the hands of Ugandan security forces. Rwandan nationals have been, and are facing a much tougher climate in Uganda these days. The situation has become such that authorities in Uganda do not even bother to investigate the deaths of Rwandans these days. The latest victims are Lambert Sahabo, a Kisoro-based Rwandan businessman, was trailed by an unknown car, and gunned down in front of his house. Another is Theogene Dusengimana whose dead body was on 7th this month found by his friends, with bruises around the stomach and neck. Both these incidents carry the signature imprint of Ugandan security agencies – that most often work hand in hand with Kayumba Nyamwasa’s RNC – when they carry out assassinations of Rwandans who either refuse to be recruited into the rebel group as fighters, or to contribute funds to it. The families of Sendegeya and Magezi are worried sick of what could be happening to their relatives. Their worries could be informed by the record of Rwandan nationals that fall into the hands of Uganda security forces. Two Rwandan businessmen, Rwamucyo Emmanuel and Rutayisire Augustin, that Ugandan soldiers arrested in Mbarara were held out of contact with anyone for four months. They then were produced before a court martial – an act that’s completely illegal given their civilian status - say their lawyers. According to them (lawyers), there was no reason for these people to be produced before a court martial. There were no provable charges against them. Sendegeya and Magezi could equally have ended up in any safe house or other un-gazetted places of detention run by Ugandan security forces all over the country. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
