Tabu Butagira
24 October 2007
Kampala — UGANDAN diplomats in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa have written to authorities there seeking urgent access to the LRA Operations Director Opio Makasi.
Mr Charles Wagaba, the Charge de Affairs at the Ugandan embassy in Kinshasa said in a telephone interview yesterday that they sent the diplomatic note on Friday.
"We are seeking consular access to see and talk to our national [Makasi] who is in detention," Mr Wagaba said.
"We have not got a word from the DRC government [but] we hope they will reply," he added. The petition wired through the Congolese foreign affairs ministry follows two weeks of anxious waiting and rising unease in Kampala over the refusal by Kinshasa authorities to let Ugandan Consular officials reach the detained top LRA commander.
Makasi is believed to have substantial information on the funding, armament and military strength of the rebel outfit.
Makasi alias Patrick Oloya, who allegedly surrendered to the UN, (Monuc) troops on October 9, was handed over to the DRC government and transferred to Kinshasa where he is reportedly being held incommunicado at a military facility. Asked why DRC had declined to cooperate, Mr Wagaba said the government processes and decision making usually take long but the Ugandan embassy remains hopeful that they would be permitted to visit Makasi sooner than later.
"We think that they are still making consultations within their government and since we wrote on Friday and they did not work over the weekend, we hope they will reply [positively]," he said.
It is still unclear why Joseph Kabila's government is hesitating to let Ugandan officials reach Makasi, who is blamed for leading bloody attacks in the Pajule-Atanga-Acholi Bur enclave and the deadly 2004 raids on Too-pe and Aweno Olwir IDP camps in Gulu and Pader districts respectively.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Oryem-Okello was reported to be in a daylong meeting when Daily Monitor tried to reach him yesterday. But Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, head of the Uganda government delegation at the Juba talks said Makasi as a Uganda was welcome home.
The Defence and Army Spokesman, Maj. Felix Kulayigye, said the UPDF was keenly monitoring the developing situation but would not allow for diplomatic interface.
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