Kigali said then that it was waiting for an invitation from Kampala which never came. The second meeting was specifically expected to help resolve the Gatuna border closure, which has been shut since February 2019.
Trade between Uganda and Rwanda has fallen to near zero. The call-off comes after Uganda’s protest note to Rwanda over the shooting dead of two Ugandans; Job Ebyarishaga and Bosco Tuhirwe, who were accused of smuggling tobacco into Rwanda. Uganda called the shootings “reckless” and demanded for a joint investigation so as to bring the perpetrators to account.
Yesterday, Rwanda President Paul Kagame spoke in Rwanda sending veiled barbs to the country’s supposed enemies saying they were “going to raise the cost on the part of anybody who wants to destabilize our security. The cost is going to be very high”.
“For those who are involved, you’ll have to come clean. You can’t be here benefiting from the peace and security that we have paid for in blood and then do things that cause us problems. We will put you where you belong,” he said.
These barbs are seen to be directed at Uganda.