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Impeccable intelligence information reaching Taarifa Investigative Desk confirms that Uganda’s chief military spy Gen. Abel Kandiho has secretly met with Rwanda renegade soldier, Kayumba Nyamwasa, in South Africa.
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You should be reminded that Nyamwasa is Rwanda’s top enemy, running a rebel outfit, RNC, that has openly declared plans to overthrow the current government.
Gen. Kandiho flew to South Africa on Wednesday, “to deliver a special message from President Kaguta Museveni of Uganda to President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.”
A frail and slender Kandiho later met with the acting chief of Defence Intelligence Agency of South Africa, Maj Gen Ntakaleleni Simon Sigudu.
This meeting comes at a time of Uganda’s return to the Democratic Republic of Congo to hunt for the Allied Democratic Front Rebels linked to ISIS and the recent string of bombings in Uganda’s capital Kampala.
Although Uganda and DRC jointly claimed an early victory against the ADF rebels, military experts privy with the ongoing UPDF “Operation Shuja” in Congo argue that there is no proof of victory against the terrorists.
“There is no substantive evidence, photo, video or anything they [UPDF-FARDC] have shown the world worth claiming defeat against the ADF terrorists. This is not only a local concern but it is global. The terrorists pose a wider threat,” said a source on condition of anonymity.
At the end of November, Ugandan military launched air and artillery bombardment against the ADF bases in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in an operation agreed with Congolese forces.
Few days later, the Uganda military announced it had failed to penetrate into the jungles of this vast mineral rich country to reach the rebels for a possible shootout.
The UPDF said it had suspended the fight ‘hampered by bad roads’.
“We are going to halt the operations for a week such that we bring in graders to open up the roads,” said Major General Kayanja Muhanga commander of UPDF “Operation Shuja” in Congo.
However, later, the FARDC-UPDF coalition said in a joint statement on Saturday that they have captured 35 ADF rebels, after new airstrikes and artillery strikes but still there are scanty details of these claims.
Rwanda, which has been strategically observing Uganda’s operations in neighbouring DRC, remains vigilant about every single detail on ground for the country’s security threats emanating, largely, from the Congo jungles.
Rwanda accuses Uganda of backing rebels whose main goal is to destabilize the country and eject the Kigali regime.
Uganda government in a counter-charge accuses Rwandan state agents of operating unlawfully in Uganda.
Such accusations and counter accusations have pushed both leaders of Rwanda and Uganda to make worrisome statements that could strain further their relations.
For example after Museveni warned that “those who try to destabilize our country do not know our capacity.” President Paul Kagame countered that “nobody anywhere can bring me to my knees.”
The borders between Rwanda and Uganda have remained technically closed since March 2019 despite a later Angola peace agreement signed between the two countries.
Uganda still dumps tortured Rwandans at the border after lengthy detentions while Rwanda maintains a travel advisory that cautions Rwandans against travelling to Uganda due to safety reasons.
Thus with Uganda having gained invited access into the DRC and keeping to itself the details of operation against the rebels and later sending Gen. Kandiho to South Africa to secretly meet Nyamwasa, the Rwandans are carefully reading the matrix.
Nyamwasa is the leader of the P5 rebel group active in Fizi and Uvira territories in South Kivu.
According to the UN group of Experts, P5 was formed from a coalition of Rwandan “opposition political organisations”, including the Amahoro People’s Congress (AMAHORO-PC), the Forces démocratiques unifées-Inkingi (FDU INKINGI), the People’s Defence Pact-Imanzi (PDP-IMANZI), the Social Party-Imberakuri (PS IMBERAKURI) and the Rwanda National Congress (RNC).
The UN Group of Experts report indicates that P5 mostly received its arms and ammunition from Burundi and recruits fighters from across the region.
A dislodge of ADF may translate into invitation of P5 to relocate into this territory where the Ugandans are still camped as they work on a road construction project that is expected to take over 5 years to complete.
Under the guise of road construction, Nyamwasa may be invited to mobilise, recruit and get direct training within this territory before the Ugandans leave Congo.
Intelligence experts consider Kandiho’s trip to South Africa as something Rwandans should take seriously.
Earlier in August, Gen. Kandiho flew to Bujumbura to meet President Evariste Ndayishimiye.
Intelligence experts viewed his visit as ‘sabotage’ of the improving relations between Burundi and Rwanda.
“You can be a hundred percent sure that Kandiho’s mission was about – to bad mouth any détente between Rwanda and Burundi,” a security source in Kigali told a local news website.
Gen Kandiho Meeting with Burundi’s Ndayishimiye
Meanwhile, South Africa is a major player in DRC’s mining sector with a score of its companies operating many mining sites.
South Africa is also a troop’s contributor to the UN Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO)- however, the link of these to Gen.Kandiho’s visit to South Africa is technically distant.
The 12,000 troops – strong Monusco has suffered numerous protest attacks from Congolese demanding for the departure of the peacekeeping force.
Protesters have been angry that UN and government soldiers have failed to prevent recurrent attacks by extremist militia.
Nevertheless, Uganda’s current military adventures are seen as a threat to regional security and a direct initiation of an arms race.
