While on a visit in Rwanda after graduating from Makerere University, Edina’s Kyarisiima (not real names) learnt of a job slot in Butale University located South of Kigali.
She had visited her relatives because her mother a born of Rwanda got married to a Munyankore man from Kashari, in Western Uganda.
“We never had any problem visiting our relatives in Rwanda. I would go anytime I want,” said Kyarisiima on Tuesday while speaking to this website.
In the family of five siblings, Kyarisiima is the last born. And as a norm in Ankole, a last born is usually favoured by the parents.
But to Kyarisiima, the favours stopped the day her dad, a popular soldier (names withheld) who worked with Air Force at Entebbe died mid 2000s.
“Our mother became our father but of course she would be overwhelmed,” she adds.
She explains that to be able to attain education, she would work with her elder brothers in Kampala during holidays.
“I couldn’t dream finishing campus,” she said adding: “But of course with God I managed to graduate.”
Journey to Rwanda
Kyarisiima says, she went to Rwanda for a holiday after graduation.
“My grandmother wanted to bless me and thank me for completing university and making my mum proud,” she said.
But little did she know she would land on a job opportunity at Butale University.
“The university advertised for many jobs, I came back to Uganda, picked my papers and applied,” she narrates.
Kyarisiima was lucky to have been shortlisted and was allowed to begin working in the University accounts department.
Strange
Kyarisiima said that the first two years were “heaven on earth” until 2017 when something unusual happened to her as she attempted to cross Gatuna border from Uganda.
“I had come to spend festival season with my family here in Uganda, and as usual I would first go to Kampala- downtown and shop clothes, bags and others things I needed because they are sold at a cheaply,” she said.
With my cargo, I would pass through the border without any interruption.
“But in January 2017, while we made a stop over at Gatuna immigrations, something strange occurred.”
Kyarisima was ordered by Rwanda Immigration officers to pull out whatever had been stuffed in her suit cases.
“When I tried to ask, I got no response to my mind I thought there was sort of a security alert,” she adds.
In that fracas she befriended a “seemingly” calm immigration officer and they exchanged phone numbers.
The officer would later alert Kyarisiima that Rwanda government had become suspicious of Ugandans entering its country and had since stepped up border security.
The officer further advised Kyarisiima that to be on a safer side, she needed to acquire Rwandan National ID or else gets arrested in night curfews.
“I did acquire the national ID but even though the situation remained delicate until mid 2018 when Rwanda government publicly started accusing my country of planning to overthrow Kagame,” she explains.
Rebel Links
Kyarisiima and a few other Ugandans at the facility were shocked to learn that the IDs they acquired were instead used against them on claims that they were rebels.
“Security authorities one day raided the university, we were summoned and locked up in a room and interrogated over our relations with RNC, FDLR and Uganda government,” she said.
Meanwhile, at the border Rwanda had started clamping down Ugandan goods, Kyarisiima expounds, “those who had shopped things from Kampala most of the times Rwandan immigrations would choose to seize them at Gatuna.”
After being linked to RNC rebels, the University administration issued a notice terminating all Ugandan workers’ contracts on claims of “doing substandard work.”
“We queried why the accusation would emerge at a time we were connected to rebels but authorities took no heed.”
Kyarisiima who still travelled to Uganda last December, was warned by her long time friend at immigration upon return in last January that “I shouldn’t have returned because the situation had completely gone out of hand.”
The officer advised Kyarisiima to go pack her things from Butale University and quietly sneak out of the country.
“I didn’t alert my bosses at work, I simply parked my stuff and left in February,” Kyarisiima narrated her plight.
She said some “bigheaded” Uganda nationals stayed at the university to negotiate the restoration of their contracts were told to resume studies in Rwandan universities as a condition to have their contracts renewed.
This website chose to protect Kyarisiima’s identity as she lives in fear ever since she returned from Rwanda.
