The fallout from the deportation from Uganda of Rwandan national, Annie Tabura, an employee of MTN Uganda has continued with a war of words on twitter.
Rwanda’s Minister of State for East African Community Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, commenting on story ran by government of Uganda run New Vision, eluded to the fact that Tabura was deported because she follows the Presidency of Rwanda and President Paul Kagame on twitter.
“So, if I read well this article by the @newvisionwire, one of the most compelling evidence against Annie Bilenge Tabura, former General Manager for Sales at @mtnug, arrested & deported from Uganda, is that she follows on Twitter “the Presidency of Rwanda & President Paul Kagame”!
So, if I read well this article by the @newvisionwire, one of the most compelling evidence against Annie Bilenge Tabura, former General Manager for Sales at @mtnug, arrested & deported from Uganda, is that she follows on Twitter “the Presidency of Rwanda & President Paul Kagame”! pic.twitter.com/5PqxLyH87b
— Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe (@onduhungirehe) January 23, 2019
Uganda deported MTN Uganda employees, Annie Tabura and Olivier Prentout, a French national accusing them of undermining state security. Prentout was the chief marketing officer.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Uganda Police deputy police spokesperson, Polly Namaye said security agencies in collaboration with immigration officers had been investigating the two foreigners “over their engagements in acts which compromise national security.”
“We strongly believe that the deportation of the two foreigners, who were using their employment as tools to achieve their ill motives, has enabled us to disrupt their intended plans of compromising our national security,” she added.
While reacting to the deportation, Nduhungirehe termed the deportation of Tabura, who before the deportation was the general manager sales and distribution as a witch-hunt.
“It is not the first time they have done this. This is a case of harassment of our nationals in Uganda.”
Despite denials from Kigali and Kampala, ties between Rwanda and Uganda appear to be deteriorating rapidly.
Rwanda accuses Uganda of arbitrary arrest and torture of Rwandans in Uganda and for hosting rebels seeking to destabilise it.
Mr Nduhungirehe said Rwanda will seek explanations, adding that there are also some Rwandans who were arrested in Uganda and we don’t know where they were taken.
While responding to a tweet by Uganda’s Pastor Martin Ssempa alias Gabriel Baaba Gwanga’Mujje, Rwandan blogger and self-styled analyst, Nyiringabo Ruhumuliza (@gateteviews) took his rant a notch higher, when he compared Uganda’s actions to the infamous, Hutu Ten Commandments also known as Ten Commandments of the Bahutu.
“The ten commandments of the Bahutu’ by genocide ideologue Hassan Ngeze, stigmatized all Tutsi women as spies’. This Ugandan discourse stigmatizes all Rwandan women, implying that a Ugandan who employs them is a traitor’. 25 years after the genocide, its ideology persists.
Sempa had tweeted: “The only good thing out of this unfortunate incident is a reasonable caution to men who have been cheating on their wives with these attractive Rwandese Babes who also double as spies according to this story. The campaign to be faithful in marriage must continue.@SoftPowerNews”
Ssempa’s tweet also didn’t go unnoticed by the Director of Communications in the Office of the President of Rwanda, Yolande Makolo.
She tweeted “This is a Christian pastor?”
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