Minister Mateke rubbishes ‘his’ outbursts on Rwanda: “I Don’t know Twitter neither Do I own a Smartphone”. The State Minister for Regional Affairs Hon Philemon Mateke has distanced himself from an opinion posted on Social Media platform, Twitter in which the author suggests that Uganda should launch an attack on Rwanda after a Ugandan was shot and killed in the neighboring country.
Ndagijima Theogene, 25, was shot dead by Rwanda security on a night of January 19, just three kilometers from Ugandan border in Kisiro.
The incident occurred a few days after Uganda had released 9 Rwandan criminals who previously faced charges and had been detained in Ugandan prisons.
But as a means of honoring the Luanda MoU signed by two President Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Paul Kagame, Ugandan Foreign Ministry handed over the criminals to Rwandan High Commissioner Maj. Gen. Frank Mugambage in Kampala.
The criminals who belonged to Rwanda’s lethal security agencies were then repatriated.
In the process of honoring the MoU as an avenue of ending tension between the two countries, Kampala requested Kigali to reciprocate by releasing Ugandans languishing in Rwanda’s safe houses and prisons.
But four days ago, Kampala was dismayed to learn of the death of another Ugandan on Rwanda’s territory.
Subsequently a social media post believed to have been authored by Minister Mateke went viral in which ‘he’ attacks Rwanda and urges ‘his’ government to respond with force to retaliate Ndagijimana’s death.
“I warned colleagues that nothing good comes from signing a pact with the devil. Appeasement didn’t work for Chamberlain in 1938, and it won’t work for us. We release their criminals, and they repay by shooting our citizens like dogs! Time to respond to this condescending behavior,” reads the post.
But speaking to this website shortly after the Tweet made rounds, Mr Mateke reminded us that he is the Minister of Regional Affairs and therefore using such a language would demean his position.
“I am a Minister of regional affairs how do I start using such language,” he said.
The 77- year-old politician sounding gullible asked us what Twitter means, “what is that thing you are calling twitter?”
He added that he doesn’t own a smartphone, and he makes his communications using “my simple phone which I understand better.”
His response comes against a backdrop of accusations by Rwandans that he is sponsoring anti-Kagame troops to overthrow his regime.
Without verifying the Tweet, Mateke’s counterpart in Kigali Amb. Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe rushed to respond alleging that Mateke had been caught red handed organizing a deadly terror attack.
“Someone who was caught red-handed, while organising a deadly terror attack that killed 14 people and wounded 16 others in a neighbouring country, should have the decency to remain silent and allow real diplomats to do their job,” reads his allegations on Twitter.