Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said that it had handed over nine Rwandans to Rwanda's High Commission and Immigration Office following their release by a court-martial in Kampala.

The individuals were arrested in Kampala and Mbarara between 2017 and 2018 and charged with unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and military uniforms, according to Uganda's Daily Monitor.

Uganda's Minister for Foreign Affairs Sam Kutesa said the Rwandans would be handed over to the Rwandan High Commissioner and be repatriated the same day.

The nine were released by the General Court Martial on Tuesday after the prosecution said it had lost interest in the case.

"In line with the Uganda-Rwanda Memorandum of Understanding signed in Angola, the Ugandan government has withdrawn charges of nine Rwandan individuals that were undergoing charges," Kutesa said.

However, there was some confusion between the countries over the manner of the arrest of the Rwandans.

Rwanda's High Commissioner to Uganda Major General Frank Mugambage, while thanking Uganda for the gesture, said that the principle of arbitrary arrests against Rwandans must stop.

"A step in the right direction needs to be followed by further action to end all the concerns that we have always raised over time. It is not only those (sic) that have been arbitrarily arrested. We will request that all those who were arbitrarily arrested and are under illegal detention should, indeed, also be released,”

Kutesa denied that Uganda had arbitrarily arrested the individuals and said this was a political move to ease tension between both countries.

"Let me set the record straight. We have withdrawn charges. These people were not arbitrary arrested. It was an act of goodwill and we hope it will be reciprocated," Kutesa said.

Rwanda insists that hundreds of its citizens are under illegal detention in Uganda and Kutesa said that Uganda is addressing that problem.

"We have a list of names that were (sic) given to us by the Rwandan government through the High Commission. Many have been dealt with and have been deported through legal means, being sent to the border with Rwanda and being signed for by the immigration authorities of Rwanda.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently pledged a new beginning and vowed to restore relations between both nations.

Relations between the two central African countries became strained in February last year when Rwanda closed its main border crossing, accusing Uganda of harboring its dissidents. The two countries have subsequently engaged in negotiations to normalize their relations.

Source: Daily Monitor, Uganda Media Centre