Uganda arrests 40 Rwandans over security concerns

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - Ugandan security forces arrested over 40 Rwandan nationals during a raid in a church in the capital Kampala, local media reported Thursday.

According to The New Vision, a Ugandan daily, the Rwandan nationals were arrested Tuesday over security concerns.

Uganda’s defense force spokesman Brig. Richard Karemire confirmed the arrests to local media but did not give the exact number for the arrests.

Local officials said some of those arrested had been found in possession of fake Ugandan national identity cards.

Kampala metropolitan police spokesman Patrick Onyango also confirmed the arrests saying it had been conducted in a joint operation involving several security agencies, according to local media.

The swoop came barely two weeks after Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni met his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in Luanda, Angola’s capital to mend ties following months of a diplomatic row.

Earlier this year, Rwanda closed its border with Uganda and issued a travel advisory to its citizens traveling to Uganda, saying their security would not be guaranteed.

At the time, Rwanda accused Uganda of allegedly supporting Rwandan dissidents planning to destabilize Kigali, an accusation which Kampala denies.