The Congolese rebel group, March 23 (M23), has confirmed that most of its commanders and representatives are in Uganda.
However, it denied that their visits were intended to foment war in Congo.
In response to a report by the United Nations Group of Experts, which said sanctioned M23 rebels reside and operate in Uganda, the group said their teams deployed outside their operation zones in DRC are there for peace.
“Regarding the matter, we would like to remind the United Nations Group of Experts that our teams (either delegation or representation) have always been deployed outside the area under our control for reasons of peace and not war,” a statement issued by Lawrence Kanyuka, the spokesperson of the M23 rebel commander, on Friday reads in part.
Kanyuka said they only got information about the UN report from a story published in the Daily Monitor newspaper.
“It was brought to our attention that the controversy fueled and maintained in the media over the possible presence of AFC delegation in Uganda was a direct result of a concern raised by the United Nations Group of Experts, as reported by the Ugandan newspaper, Monitor, in its publication of Wednesday, June 12, 2024,” M23 statement stated.
The UN Group of Experts report also alleged that Uganda is providing sanctuary to the rebels and passage to the Rwanda Defence Forces troops, who travel to Eastern DRC to fight alongside M23 fighters against the DRC government.
Impact of sanctions
The UN sanctions prevent M23 rebel leaders from travelling abroad, but the UN experts indicated that Uganda allows them to travel through its territory and Entebbe International Airport.
In one incident, the UN experts said the rebel leaders, including Kanyuka, met Mr Andrew Mwenda, a journalist, in Kampala City to help them improve their diplomatic relationship with Western missions.
In the M23 response, the rebels said the presence of their delegations in Kampala, and other cities in East Africa and Southern Africa were only intended for talks.
“This is particularly the case with certain capitals of some countries in the East and Southern Africa regions, which have long served as venues for talks between our organisation and the Kinshasa regime to bring peace to our country,” the M23 report stated.
The report cites other incidents when M23 rebels have visited Uganda.
“Uganda: Negotiations between the Kinshasa regime and the M23 from 2012 to 2013 in Kampala. The meeting with the Kinshasa delegation led by the Minister of Defense and Veterans Ngoy Mukena in 2014 in Kampala,” the M23 report stated.
Adding: “Dialogue with the Kinshasa regime on April 20th, 2022, in Entebbe, and the failed peace meeting on August 7th, 2023, in Kampala chaired by the EAC (East African Community) facilitator where the Kinshasa regime delegation was conspicuous by its absence.”
The UN Group of Experts report indicated the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces is supporting M23 rebels, an allegation Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye, the Director of Defence Public Information in Uganda, denied.
Brig Gen Kulayigye last month said the UN experts have been making the same allegations for some time, but they have never provided evidence.
Yesterday, he said he isn’t aware of the presence of M23 rebels in Uganda.
“I am not an immigration officer to know that. But as long as someone isn’t a threat to national security, the UPDF (Uganda Peoples Defence Forces) isn’t concerned. The people within the East African Community are allowed free movement within the community,” he said.
rebel gains
Catalysts
M23 and its ally, Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), have captured huge territory in Eastern DRC, with the latest being a strategic town of Kanyabayonga, which was seized last week, prompting President Felix Tshisekedi to allocate 20 percent of the country’s budget to the ministry of defence to be able to fend off the rebels.