A section of Rwandans is contemplating taking to Kigali streets to protest the death of an expecting woman who fell in a ditch near Cyanika border in Uganda.
Elizabeth Mukarugwiza, 38, collapsed dead while trying to runaway following a pursuit by Rwanda security forces deployed at the border to bar locals who sneak into Uganda via porous border lines.
Mukarugwiza and her group, according to eyewitness were looking for food in Uganda.
An official in Kigali who requested not be named fearing arrest, said a section of the population comprising human rights defenders, local traders, pregnant women and others are planning a street action as a means of expressing their discontent on border closure to RPF establishment.
In February President Paul Kagame ordered authorities at Gatuna/Katuna to close the border post and also disallow entry of Ugandan goods into his country.
The decision was to display uneasiness for the continued harassment of Rwandans in Uganda, hosting anti- Kigali elements and seizing of Rwandan goods.
Kagame warned Rwandans against traveling to Uganda as they risked being arrested and tortured.
Uganda however, denied all the accusations propagated by Kigali.
But the border blockade has backfired with Rwandans sneaking through panya’s (illegal pathways) to cross to Uganda to look for food and other basic necessities.
However, acting on the directives of the Presidency, Rwandan security forces have been pursuing citizens found crossing to Uganda.
Looming Protests
Following the demise of Mukarugwiza, wife to Dan Hakizimana both residents of Nyamirama in Musanza District, there is a likelihood that protests could erupt in Kigali and other parts of the country particularly those affected by the border impasse.
The official added that “people are very angry and calling for the opening of the border.”
Whereas Kigali has been known for applying an iron hand in quelling protests thus instilling fear in those intending to demonstrate, this time the citizens say, “we either stay intimidated and die of hunger.”
Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni sometime back responded to border closure as “suicidal” at a time when Rwandans depend on Uganda’s exports.
Museveni reiterated on Wednesday evening on his visit in Kenya that he can never close Ugandan borders even when a neighboring country chooses to.
In video that has been circulating on internet, a Rwandan woman who claims to be a friend of Mukarugwiza (deceased) narrated how she died.
Whereas Rwandan spin machines attributed the cause of her death to Ugandan security forces, Mukarugwiza’s pal pinned Rwanda’s soldiers of chasing her before she fell in a ditch.
Speaking in local language Kinywarwanda, the woman said many times they have been intercepted by Rwandan soldiers who then confiscate all their belongings.
“When it is food they chop it into pieces before sending us away. They insist that it is illegal for us to go to Uganda to get food,” she said.
Following the death of her close friend, the woman has since vowed to defy the orders and continue sneaking to Uganda not until the border is reopened.
“I am tired and ready to die,” she said.
