|
Uganda maintains it has not
deployed troops in Kenya
Story by HUSSEIN BOGERE in Kampala
Publication Date: 1/20/2008
Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kuteesa has said he will resign his
job if accusations that Uganda has sent soldiers to politically
troubled Kenya are proved true.
Addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday, Mr Kuteesa dismissed
claims that Uganda has soldiers across the border.
“I will resign my job if it is discovered that Uganda sent troops
to Kenya,” Mr Kuteesa said in response to a question by a
journalist.
Talk has been rife within the Opposition circles in Uganda and in
Kenya, and in sections of the Kenyan press, that Uganda has troops
in Kisumu helping shore up President Kibaki’s hold on power.
On Monday last week, Kenyan opposition Members of Parliament from
Western and Nyanza provinces expressed concern over what they said
was the presence of Ugandan troops in their areas.
“These troops have been seen landing by boat along the shores of
Lake Victoria at various points from Sori to Port Victoria. They
have made crossings at Malaba and Busia border posts or simply
violated the international boundaries by constantly crossing into
Kenya,” a statement from the MPs read.
The MPs further alleged that in Nyatike, Rangwe, Mbita, Busia,
Bungoma, Kakamega, Siaya, Bondo, and Kisumu districts, the Ugandan
troops entered villages and markets and harassed people. The
troops have caused deaths in Nyatike, Mbita, Gem, Bondo and Ugenya,
the MPs claimed
Mr Kuteesa said he had called reporters to brief them on the
political situation in Kenya, which he said not only affects
Kenyans but also “their brothers and sisters in Uganda, and indeed,
the region”.
Said Mr Kuteesa: “The government and people of Uganda wish to
assure our brothers and sisters in Kenya that there is no truth
whatsoever in the allegations that Uganda interfered in the
electoral process in Kenya or that it deployed or intends to
deploy troops in Kenya or even engage in activities that would
endanger the lives of our brothers and sisters in Kenya.”
It is not the first time that Uganda is denying an alleged
presence of its troops on foreign soil. In 1998, the government
flatly denied that its troops had rolled tanks into DR Congo
territory only to turn around later and admit that the invasion
was in the interest of protecting Uganda from anti-Kampala rebels
operating from across the border.
The minister blamed “mischievous elements within Uganda and Kenya”
for the relentless allegations of Ugandan troop deployment in
Kenya, ostensibly to help prop up President Kibaki whose
re-election has yet bo be recognised around the world.
“People are talking recklessly,” Mr Kuteesa said. “There is
absolutely no truth. There are no troops and there will be no
troops. This is a Kenya problem which must be resolved by Kenyans.
This is a political problem, not a military problem.”
He said Uganda will not give solutions to Kenya for its own
problems, adding that Kampala has no magic wand to wave. He said,
however, that there are a number of solutions, one of which is
power-sharing.
Mr Kuteesa said President Museveni, who has been in regular
contact with President Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga, the leader of
the Orange Democratic Movement Party (ODM), will come out with a
position in the near future.
Sunday Monitor has separately learnt that President Museveni, in
his capacity as chairman of the East African Community, will
likely announce his proposed “way forward” on Wednesday in
Nairobi.
It should be noted that President Museveni thus far is the only
known leader to have sent a congratulatory message to President
Kibaki.
Mr Kuteesa said, however, that Uganda would not find itself in an
awkward position if there were a change of leadership in Kenya.
He said that while President Museveni congratulated President
Kibaki upon his swearing-in for his second five-year term, he also
pointed out to him that he was hearing that there had been
problems with the electoral process.
“He asked him whether he needed assistance,” Mr Kuteesa said,
although he did not reveal whether President Kibaki had called for
assistance.
Mr Kuteesa appealed to the government and people of Kenya to stop
attacks on Ugandans and Ugandan goods transiting through Kenya.
On Friday, protestors in Nairobi’s Kibera slum vandalised the
railway line, derailing a goods train destined to Uganda.
“The railway line has been restored,” he said.
Uganda, Mr Kuteesa said, will continue to stand by Kenya in the
quest for a peaceful and lasting solution.
|
