President Paul Kagame has told Rwandans that his government will do whatever it takes to meet their basic needs within the country, without them having to cross borders to look for what they want, in the wake of a wave of arrests of Rwandan nationals in Uganda.

President Kagame, while officiating at the opening on a multi-billion “Model Village” built by the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) under the country’s Integrated Development Programme (IDP) in Horezo, Muhanga district, Southern Province said that Rwandans should not cross the border to look for services which can be provided locally.

The Rwandan leader was speaking at the function to mark 24 years after the Rwanda Patriotic Party (RPF-Inkotanyi) liberated the country after stopping the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

He pointed out that citizens should ask the government to provide whatever they need because it is their right instead of crossing borders.

“We will try our best to provide what you want –schools, hospitals, water and electricity. In fact, you should be asking us to provide these basic needs if we don’t provide them on time because it is your right to demand them,”

“It is your right to access these services without anybody asking you for a bribe. If someone asks for a bribe, tell us and we will deal with that person. The government has already paid for these services. You can’t pay more money to access them,” President Kagame told residents of Southern Province.

President Kagame’s remarks came few hours after police in the south western Ugandan district of Kabale said it was holding 46 Rwandans for illegally entering Uganda.

Reports also indicate that another group of 72 Rwandans were nabbed in the operation and later deported back to Rwanda after crossing into Uganda without proper travel documents.

According to the Kigezi Regional Police spokesperson, Elly Maate, the suspects were intercepted from Kalita and Horizon buses respectively, on Monday evening in Muhanga Trading Centre, along Kabale-Ntungamo highway traveling to Kampala and other parts of Uganda.

Uganda Police said they entered the country through porous border points. They were reportedly heading to Bunyoro and Kijura tea plantation farms in Kabarole district for Labour.

“The operation was intelligence led and arrested 72 people and after screening, 26 women and children were taken by immigration to process their deportation back to Rwanda while the 46 will appear before courts of law,” Maate is quoted by Ugandan media.

Fragile ties

The Rwandan government is yet to formally comment on the arrests and deportations. The developments come at a time when the two countries are sustaining fragile diplomatic ties, despite efforts to normalise relations.

Rwanda maintains that Uganda illegally detains Rwandans in Uganda who are travelling on legal documents as enshrined in the Eastern African Community (EAC) protocol which guarantees free movement of persons and goods.

Uganda maintains that Rwandans mostly arrested are accused of engaging in acts of espionage or illegally entered the country. It is common for Rwandans along the border to cross over to Uganda look for greener pastures.

“There is no border you can cross and get better services than what we can provide here, whether it is healthcare, education etc. We shouldn’t be crossing borders for any reason. We are going to do whatever it takes to ensure that the reasons people cross borders are removed. We will ensure that whatever services they are looking for can be obtained locally,” Kagame said, underscoring that some citizens are exposed to human trafficking in the process.

Army projects

As Rwanda marked 24 years after liberation, RDF unveiled major projects worth over Rwf161bn which they implemented on behalf of the government in the 2017/18 financial year including 3, 407 houses constructed for vulnerable families, genocide survivors and ex-combatants.

A total of 22 IDP model villages consisting of 2, 080 houses, including the one at Horezo unveiled by President Kagame and the First Lady Mrs Jeannette Kagame, were also built by the armed forces in different parts of the country.

The army also built 865km of roads across the country –both tarmac and feeder, and 19 bridges. According to RDF, the projects were achieved in a very short time and at a much lower cost, saving the government some Rwf14.2bn.

President Kagame noted that the government will do more as the country seeks to ‘liberate the citizens socio-economically’ through different initiatives to improve the standards of living.

The IDP model villages come with fully furnished houses for vulnerable households, an early childhood development centre, health posts, community halls, schools, biogas units for families and kitchen gardens as well as a cow for each family.

Rwanda intends to have at least 70 percent of rural populations, including those in high risk zones, settled in planned settlements which come with all amenities.