The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
South Sudan
Over the weekend of Feb.8-9, Museveni and Kagame were in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for an African Union summit themed ‘Silencing the Guns: Creating Conditions for Africa’s Development’. The meeting was aimed at achieving a conflict-free Africa.
On the sidelines of the AU summit, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) held its 34th Extraordinary summit of Heads of State and Government under the chairmanship of Abdalla Hamdok, the Prime Minister of Sudan.
Top on the agenda of the IGAD meet was the peace process in South Sudan whose failure to form a unity government vexes EAC leaders. The conflict that erupted in 2013 has claimed an estimated 500, 000 lives and displaced over two million people creating a refugee crisis in the EAC region.
Museveni and South Sudan President Salva Kiir attended the summit and a communique from IGAD noted in passing the progress made in the implementation of tasks during the 100-day extension period to form a government of national unity in South Sudan. The extension was made in November. IGAD also took note of the fast approaching deadline for leaders of South Sudan to form a unity government.
The IGAD meeting also attended by the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed noted that “further extension is neither desirable nor feasible at this stage of this peace process.” Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Djibouti; Raychelle Omamo, Kenya’s secretary for foreign affairs and Hirut Zememe, Ethiopia’s state minister for the Federal Republic of Ethiopia also attended.
By the time the EAC summit happens, IGAD expects the leaders of South Sudan; Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, former vice president and leader of opposition, to have formed a government of unity which is by Feb. 22. IGAD comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
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Surely, appointing a man that is virulently anti a given ethnic tribe to such a pertinent office, is more of a signal of hostile intent than the desire to send a goodwill message, unless no due diligence was done prior to his appointment!
Whatever Matekye’s quarrel is with people of Tutsi ethinicity, it is very deep evil! I know Matekye to have been a very close friend to some engineer who was married to a Tutsi woman until death did them apart, I must say the Hutu engineer and his Tutsi wife raised wonderful successful children! But with the foresaid in mind, you cannot believe how virulent Matekye could talk act towards the so called Tutsi at the said engineers home! I experienced this first hand!
And there is a “credible” story of how “Hon” Matekye organized for a massacre of Tutsi students who were at Butobere college during Amins rule! While the wonderful Banyakigezi didn’t mind the harmless young souls, Matekye was talking of exterminating them! One of the regimes agents got the the wind of the planned massacre, intervened and foiled it!
Surely, the vetting authorities should have known his background prior to approving him, unless they didn’t do any due diligence or they were just laggards as usual.
“Hon” Matekye, look at yourself in the mirror; Would you live forever or happily ever after, if the people you call or perceive to be Tutsi were wiped off the earth?
At your age, I would make peace with the living, for you cannot wipe out a people!
May you live to see the so called Hutu and Tutsi children walk hand in hand and talking about their common destiny; “The bright future of Ubuntu”