About 80 Rwandans who were being held illegally in Uganda were Monday safely returned to Rwanda following a virtual meeting between Ugandan and Rwandan officials facilitated by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola. The targeting of Rwandans in Uganda, their arrest, torture and incarceration without trial has been a bone of contention between both countries, though the most underlying issue was Uganda’s support and hosting of armed groups hostile to Rwanda. The talks have been advancing slowly and the only consolation is that whenever the two parties meet, some Rwandans are miraculously dumped at the border with no prior acknowledgement of their detention. As people of both counties wait for things to iron out, there is no need to despair as no conflict is eternal. All it needs is goodwill and sincerity. Who would have thought that the long-standing bloody feud with the DRC would disappear? Who would have thought that the DRC would be playing peace broker in the Uganda-Rwanda misunderstanding? If the DRC could make peace with Rwanda, so can Uganda. What is only needed is coming clean and addressing legitimate grievances. It took the changing of Guard in DRC to see peace between both countries. It makes one wonder whether the conflict was a personal matter, a whim. That is exactly what can be said of Burundi and it is hoped that the recent extension of the olive branch by Rwanda towards the new president-elect will help soften the hardline stance. But people need to first make peace with the truth.
