The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame is already in Uganda for the 48th birthday anniversary of the UPDF Commander Land Forces, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Kagame landed at Entebbe International Airport around 2pm where he was received by Col Joseph Rutabana the High Commissioner of Rwanda in Uganda, Ms Anne Katusiime, the Charge d’Affaires at Uganda’s High Commission in Kigali, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba and the security minister, Maj Gen Jim Muhwezi.
Kagame, a former member of National Resistance Army (NRA), will be attending Gen Muhoozi’s birthday day dinner at State House this evening organized by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and first Lady Janet Museveni.
Muhoozi who is also Presidential Advisor on Special Operations announced a couple of days back that Kagame will attend his birthday.
“I am very happy to announce that my uncle, the very great Commander, President and Leader of Rwanda will be attending my birthday celebration. Ruhanga asiimwe! Inkotanyi cyane indeed!!”
Today’s birthday dinner was preceded by celebrations in Bushenyi Western Uganda on Friday, then birthday run in Kampala and a mega event at Lugogo Cricket Oval attended by thousands of Ugandan youths, leaders and top security heads.
The Rwandan leader is back to Uganda for the first time in four years. He was last in the country on March 25, 2018 for a one day visit at President Yoweri Museveni’s invite where the two principals held official talks in a cordial and friendly atmosphere, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Gen Muhoozi has been very instrumental in mending relations between Uganda and Rwanda which until March this year, were frost since February 2019 when Rwanda closed Katuna/Gatuna border.
At the time, Kigali said the closure was due to the renovations at the border. Cargo was then diverted to Mirama Hills and Kyanika border posts in Ntungamo and Kisoro districts, but those too were later closed.
Rwanda shortly after, issued a travel advisory to its nationals warning them against travelling to Uganda, which it accused of, among other things, abducting its citizens and detaining them in ungazetted areas, allegations government of Uganda disputed.
Since the closure of border, there were at least four tripartite meetings involving Angolan President Joao Lourenço, and DR Congo President Félix Tshisekedi, and a series of lower level meetings between government officials of the two nations, but they did not yield much.
This prompted Gen Muhoozi to reign-in and engaged President Kagame whom he severally refers to as his Uncle. Muhoozi has since January this year made two official visits to Rwanda where he held talks with President Kagame on the relations between the two countries.
The two visits led to the full reopening of its borders on March 7 to allow both cargo trucks and people to freely cross.
