General

What Uhuru and Museveni discussed in Entebbe

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni welcomes former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Entebbe. PHOTO: COURTESY

Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on August 5, 2023, helds talks with Ugandan President President Yoweri Museveni at Entebbe.

In a statement, President Museveni said he met Mr Kenyatta in his capacity as the facilitator of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Peace process.

“President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has today received former President of the Republic of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta, in his capacity as facilitator of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Peace process. The two had meaningful discussions and Mr Museveni thanked him for coming,” the statement read in part.

Since his retirement, the former Kenyan president has concentrated on trying to secure peace in the horn of Africa, and especially in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Talks between the two leaders could also have centred on the relationship between Mr Kenyatta and President Ruto, who is a known close ally of Museveni.

The meeting between the two leaders in Uganda’s capital Kampala comes at a time Mr Kenyatta has fallen out with his successor President William Ruto over his perceived closeness with opposition leader Raila Odinga.

As a result, President Ruto has consistently accused his predecessor of funding the anti-government protests that left scores dead, other injured and property worth millions of shillings destroyed.

Mr Kenyatta has denied the allegations, amid claims of harrasment from the government where his immediate family’s security was withdrawn leading to a police raid on his eldest son’s private residence.

Mr Kenyatta’s family has also had to deal with an apparent offensive in their business interests from the Ruto government.

It was recently announced that Brookside Uganda had to retrench its workers after the Kenyan goverrnment denied it permits to export milk to Kenya.

The Kenyatta family are majority shareholders at Brookside.

President Museveni and Mr Kenyatta have had an on and off relationship.

During Mr Kenyatta’s presidency, Kenya and Uganda enjoyed successful trade relations that were however consistently punctuated by Kenya denying entry of Ugandan products to its market.

Analysts say the relationship between the two leaders was dented when Uganda overlooked Kenya and elected to build an oil pipeline to transport millions of its crude oil to Tanzania’s Tanga Port.

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