{{The East African Community (EAC) Secretary-General Dr. Richard Sezibera has said that Rwanda and Tanzania are engaged in quiet diplomacy aimed at resolving the recently soured relations between the two neighbours.}}
He said, “Disagreements are not good for the community,” adding that the strained relations between the two neighbours were of concern to the EAC. “The issue has to be resolved…I’m sure it will be resolved diplomatically.”
Dr. Sezibera told Journalists that most of the diplomatic efforts are being handled away from the media which he says had blown the matter out of proportion.
“I don’t want to go into detail on what is happening behind the scenes. We will do our best to have the two countries resolve what led to this state of affairs,” He said in his first reaction to the soured relations between the two EAC member states.
The EAC Secretary General also said that a Tanzanian ministerial delegation has been in Rwanda lately for discussion with their Rwanda counterparts.
He also cautioned the media to carefully handle information that could further damage relations between the two countries.
Dr Sezibera dismissed reports that Rwanda and Uganda were contemplating to stop using Dar es Salaam port and questioned the authenticity of the information which, he added, did not originate from Rwandan officials.
On the recent expulsion of illegal immigrants from Kagera Region, the EAC boss said Tanzania was within its rights, although the decision was not good for the East African cooperation spirit.
Mr Sezibera said the EAC would dispatch a fact-finding team to Kagera following claims of human rights abuses during the expulsion of illegal immigrants from Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and other countries.
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