At least 40 Rwandan nationals were arrested in Kampala in an operation that was conducted by the military with support from the Ugandan police. The arrest took place in a church in Kibuye, Entebbe Road. The church’s membership is reportedly only Rwandan.
The arrests have seemingly escalated tensions between the two East African neighbors that have been dicey for a few months now. The tension between the two with Rwanda accusing Uganda of hosting elements opposed to the regime in Kigali, while Uganda accuses Rwanda of sending spies into the country.
Earlier in the year, Rwanda closed its border with Uganda rejecting goods and trucks coming from Uganda in a stalemate that saw Ugandan trucks stuck at the border. Moreover, the stalemate was accelerated when Kampala has accused the Rwandan army of killing two people near a border post in a violation of territorial integrity.
Thus, the current tensions have seen a lot of retaliatory actions by both sides with the latest arrest by Rwandan nationals in Uganda a major escalation in the tensions. While the police and military are yet to give a reason for the arrests it is quite clear that Uganda is taking the espionage claims against Rwanda seriously. The two presidents are yet to meet in order to de-escalate the tensions with eyes on the East African Community to intervene before the conflict gets out of hand.
