KAMPALA – Rwanda government has accused Ugandan security officials of illegally arresting over 200 Rwanda nationals during an operation conducted in Kisoro District on Monday, November 25, 2019.
Hundreds of people were rounded up in a security operation swoop by Police and UPDF officers in Kisoro District. The operations started as early as 6 am, with officers moving door to door asking residents to produce the identification documents. Those, especially Rwandans and Congolese, without travel documents were arrested.
And now Kigali claims that its nationals were arrested on suspicion of being State spies. Rwanda’s High Commissioner in Uganda Frank Mugambage on Tuesday said: “We have not been informed, as has been the case with very many other arrests.”
The norm is, he said, the High Commission is officially informed.
“We only learnt of it through the media and are now trying to follow up through the official channels here,” he said from the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
However, Kisoro RDC Peter Mugisha said the Monday operation was aimed at ridding the area of criminals who take advantage of the porous border to commit crime, adding that it will be maintained.
He dismissed as baseless that the operation was politically motivated.
The arrested were bundled onto pickup trucks and paraded at Seseme playground where they were screened. Those who managed to present their IDs were set free while the rest were taken for further questioning.
