DailyMonitor
This week, political and security analysts, academicians and diplomats met at Makerere University for the Kampala Geopolitics Conference to discuss the political dynamics in the Great Lakes region under the theme: ‘Power Play in the Great Lakes Region: Regional Dimensions of Peace and Conflict’, Paul Murungi writes.
For long, Uganda has been seen as a haven of stability for the Great Lakes region. But recently, tensions with its neighbour Rwanda escalated, leading to a border shutdown and thus threatening to escalate tension in the region.
Also, the situation in neighbouring countries has not been any better. An ongoing civil war in South Sudan drives away thousands every day. Similar pictures present themselves in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country has been war-torn for decades, accompanied by outbreaks of disease.
Further south, Pierre Nkurunziza and his government’s violations of human rights as well as years of economic mismanagement has forced Burundians to flee their homes. Many of these conflicts have deep-rooted lines that relate to ethnicity, access to resources, weak governance, but also post-colonial scars.
With shifting epicentres, the Great Lakes region remains one of the most volatile regions in Africa where the emergency of conflict is unpredictable and cold relations among the countries continue to exist.
Uganda-Rwanda relations
On September 16, Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa led a team to Kigali, Rwanda, for the first meeting of the implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Uganda and Rwanda.
Those in attendance were Manuel Domingos Augusto, the minister of External Affairs of Angola, and Gilbert Kankonde, the deputy prime minister of the DR Congo.
“The peoples of our two countries, more than anybody else, are anxious and need to see progress. Therefore, we should consider immediate steps to normalise relations. I wish to reaffirm that Uganda is committed to a peaceful and friendly co-existence with Rwanda,” said Mr Kutesa in a short speech.
It is our expectation that this meeting will launch the process of normalisation of relations in a tangible way… going forward, it is essential that every effort is made to de-escalate the build-up of tension between the two countries.”
The MoU had earlier been signed on August 21 in Luanda, Angola, between President Museveni and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame under the chairmanship of their Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco. This was against the background of a long-standing feud that saw Rwanda close its borders in February. The two countries accused each other of foreign interference.
But some political pundits saw the signing of the MoU more as a public relations gesture than a genuine desire to end the long-standing feud.
Sudan civil war
In August 2015, the Revitalised Agreement was signed in Sudan to end decades of war in South Sudan. However, in July 2016, violent confrontations erupted resulting in another conflict. Tense negotiations continue with former vice president Riek Machar expected in November in Juba to resolve the conflict.
Whereas there is effort being made, the challenge of sustaining regional peace looms large in the Great Lakes.
The ongoing conflicts in the DRC and failed peace agreements with rebels exacerbate the lack of trust and confidence at all levels. This makes shared efforts to bring about effective peace building, let alone economic recovery at the national and regional levels, a distant goal.
Tensions and suspicions continue to exist among some governments in the region, and there is limited confidence in each other’s ability or willingness to address the root cause and drivers of conflict.
Against this background, this week, political and security analysts, academicians and diplomats met at Makerere University for the Kampala Geopolitics Conference to discuss the political dynamics in the Great Lakes region under the theme: ‘Power Play in the Great Lakes Region: Regional Dimensions of Peace and Conflict’.
According to Daniel Kalinaki, the general manager editorial at Nation Media Group, power in the Great Lakes is projected differently by the different countries through diplomatic, military and economic means.
Kalinaki says the key drivers of conflict in the region include economic disfranchisement within countries, historical injustices and an absence of genuinely competitive processes leading to politics being exercised through violent means.
“We have too many destructive wars than constructive wars. The colonial project interrupted the organic peace building process because we were left with unresolved, interrupted nation building projects,” he said.