The victims of Rwandan aggression living in Uganda have written to Foreign Minister Hon. Sam Kahamba Kutesa expressing distress over the release of nine Rwandan lethal spies who had been detained in Ugandan prisons.
The suspects were charged with among others illegal possession of firearms and kidnap of Rwandan refugees but would later be released and repatriated on political grounds.
According to Prosy Bonabana, a Ugandan mother whose husband was kidnapped in 2015 and remains languishing in Kigali safe house, the arrest of the 9 Rwandan criminals resulted from the information volunteered by their victims, her inclusive.
Bonabana who heads an NGO Self Worth Initiative, has since told this website that she now lives in fresh fear on learning the release of these deadly DMI operatives.
Bonabana has since written to Minister Kutesa expressing discontent. Her letter was received Monday morning.
Below we produce a full letter.
The purpose of writing to you is to bring to your attention the anger and concerns of victims of Rwandan aggression following the recent release and withdrawal of criminal charges against 9 Rwandan citizens by your government.
We have learnt with dismay through media reports Hon. Minister that these individuals, proven by Uganda security agencies to be Rwandan spies conducting their illegal activities on Ugandan soil have been released and their charges dropped on political grounds.
We would like to take this opportunity to express our dismay and condemn this gesture. It has shattered hopes of many victims of Rwanda’s aggression and criminal activities across Uganda and we are concerned that such criminals are now roaming our streets with ability to murder their targets with impunity.
Hon. Minister, there’s no doubt that such a gesture, apparently extended to Rwanda in goodwill, serves as an incentive for the latter, known belligerent of our beautiful country to dispatch more criminals.
It is now common knowledge that at the heart of Uganda-Rwandan conflict is the blatant aggression by the Rwandan security agencies who have continued to conduct subversive activities across Uganda against Rwandan refugees, asylum seekers, Ugandans of Rwandan origin and their sympathizers through kidnaps, murder and illegal repatriations.
These kinds of aggressive activities by the Rwandan security agencies in coordination with the Rwandan High Commission (that continue to act as a terror cell against perceived critics and refugees of Rwanda) are not only affecting the territorial integrity and stability of Uganda and subsequently impeding trade, tourism and investment but also grossly affects human rights and fundamental freedoms of those you owe duty of care within your territory.
In due process of Rwanda’s relentless aggression against Uganda, many people have lost their lives; refugees, children, innocent women and men have been rendered orphans and widows. Many continue to disappear without a trace and victims have lost hope of ever reconnecting with their loved ones.
Others have their husbands, sons and relatives still incarcerated in Kigali safehouses without trial or languishing in prisons across Rwanda long sentences on politically motivated charges.
We appreciate your government’s kind gesture in 2017 when victims took a leading role to speak out and condemn these aggressive activities by Rwandan security agencies that had claimed the lives of many of their people and pushed several other to live in constant fear.
As a result of this advocacy especially through protesting to the President, Parliament, security agencies and development partners, Uganda listened to their concerns and acted by arresting several of suspected criminals and their conspirators in Ugandan security, including the released lot.
This act restored hope among victims who felt a sense of justice. Since 2017, however, victims have anxiously waited for justice to prevail through your robust judicial system only to receive shocking news of the withdrawal of criminal charges against known Rwandan intelligence agents that have terrorized refugees for many years. We strongly condemn this miscarriage of justice. Criminals terrorizing helpless and voiceless refugees must be accountable for their heinous crimes and face the full force of the law.
It is evident that lives of victims and critics of the Rwandan aggression are now in grave danger with the release of Rwandan criminal gangs.
While victims appreciate the gesture by the Ugandan leadership as a move intended to set in motion the process of normalizing relations between the two countries, a vow which President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni made to Ugandans, we regret to note that this has come at the expense of human rights and fundamental freedoms violations of victims of Rwanda’s aggression.
Uganda should avoid falling into the trap of Rwanda’s belligerent policy and campaign of blackmail in which the latter appears as a victim of their own criminality on the Ugandan territory.
There is no indication that this kind of action by Uganda will act as a deterrent for Rwandan aggressors and released criminals desisting from their illegal activities. We are sure and gravely concerned that Rwanda will continue its subversive activities in Uganda and commit more atrocities against refugees and all that they perceive as their critics in Uganda using the same individuals who had built a strong criminal network across the country.
It is our prayer Hon. Minister that Rwandan authorities will reciprocate your gesture of goodwill by releasing our husbands, children and relatives incarcerated in their prisons and safe houses across Rwanda.
We request that you ask Rwanda to without any condition cease harassing refugees in camps and across the country, those in the pastoral corridor and Ugandans especially those along our common border.
We note that in all this diplomatic engagements, the obligation of states to guarantee the basic human rights and physical security to its citizens and all its residents also extends to refugees and asylum seekers in their territories. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has expressly affirmed that all civil and political rights must be guaranteed by states without discrimination between citizens and aliens.
The internationally recognized rights that refugees and asylum-seekers enjoy include the fundamental right to life, liberty and security of person, the right to be free from torture and other cruel or degrading treatment, the right not to be discriminated against, and the right of access to the courts or due processes of justice. Equitable Justice is an inherit right and not a donation and it extends to all citizens, residents and including refugees or asylum seekers in a country.
Refugees like citizens or other residents are also entitled to protection from refoulement and expulsion. Asylum seekers may not be summarily returned without giving them access to full and fair asylum procedures. The doctrine of non-refoulement is now recognized as a norm of customary international law of universal application, and it applies to all government agents acting in an official capacity, within or outside their national territory. All persons are also protected under international human rights law from return to any country where they would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
It’s our affirmation and call that Uganda should make it clear in no uncertain terms to Rwanda in this renewed diplomatic venture that the arrests of any of refugees or asylum seekers for any suspected crime must be subjected to full transparent and accountable legal process for equitable justice. It’s also our conviction that any reported kidnap and murder should be fully investigated and such reports made public for confidence building and security of the victims or targets of the Rwandan regime agents.
We request, Hon Minister, that victims of Rwanda’s criminal activities many of whom are refugees and asylum seekers, be involved in parallel discussions along your diplomatic engagements if we are to achieve fair and just outcomes from this process. We have lived experiences as victims of an aggressive foreign government and we believe our input will go a long way in informing your government position going forward.
Thanks in advance for your kind consideration of our concerns and humble requests.
