Rwanda, Uganda trade claims over treatment of refugees
KIGALI, Rwanda — More than a month after he was allegedly tortured by members of Uganda’s secret service, Rwandan citizen Fidel Gatsinzi is still limping from his injuries.
Gatsinzi claims he was arrested by security agents after visiting his son at a Ugandan university in December and that 12 days of being hooded and beaten left him in a wheelchair for days after his release.
“They were accusing me of being a Rwandan spy and a killer. That I was in Uganda to hunt down Rwandan refugees living in Uganda to harm them,” Gatsinzi told The Associated Press, denying the accusations. He said he saw another Rwandan who had been tortured and was “really in a bad shape.”
The neighbouring East African countries have faced years of uneasy relations over Uganda’s refusal to forcibly repatriate Rwandan refugees, including some who are suspected of involvement in Rwanda’s genocide in 1994. People like Gatsinzi claim they are caught in the middle, suspected by one country or the other. Now some are taking their claims to court.