Kagame offers help on Migingo row

Rwanda has offered to mediate between Kenya and Uganda in the Migingo Island dispute. According to a Ugandan daily, The Monitor, the issue was raised at a meeting between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni in Kampala on Tuesday.

Kenya and Uganda have both claimed ownership of the island in a row that has threatened to strain relations. The publication said President Kagame later told the media that he believed the contest was not “as complicated or as difficult as it was being portrayed.”

He said that while the row had not become a major issue for the East African Community, he would consult Kenya in an effort to resolve the impasse. Mr Kagame, the current chairman of the EAC, however said that disruption to trade caused by the recent vandalism of the railway line in Nairobi's Kibera was a cause for concern.

President Museveni was less interested in discussing the issue, saying it was a “survey matter and not for politicians.”

Meanwhile, Parliament is scheduled to debate a motion urging President Kibaki to use all the resources at his disposal to solve the dispute as fears mount over the presence of Ugandan troops on the island and in parts of the Rift Valley district of Pokot.

Despite the absence of a House Business Committee to receive the motion, National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende allowed Ikolomani MP Bonny Khalwale to give notice of the motion. Dr Khalwale’s motion expresses concern over the presence of Ugandan forces on the island, noting that this is against international law.

Mr Khalwale wants Parliament to demand that the troops leave Kenyan soil immediately and that Uganda commits itself to respecting territorial boundaries.