KAMPALA

Western countries considered organising a coup d’état to get rid of Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has said.

His comments, made Tuesday during a press conference in Kigali, come a fortnight after he made an impromptu visit to meet Uganda's President Museveni at State House Entebbe during which the two leaders discussed the deteriorating security situation in DR Congo.

Mr Kagame told reporters that his government, accused by Human Rights Watch of fuelling unrest in eastern DRC by allegedly supporting renegade Congolese leader Gen. Bosco Ntaganda, was privy to plans by some in the “so called international community” to overthrow President Kabila before last year’s election during which he was re-elected.

“I am going to spill some secrets to you”, Mr Kagame told journalists. Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Henry Okello Oryem told this newspaper Wednesday that Mr Kagame, would most certainly have shared such sensitive and classified information when he met President Museveni recently.

Mr Oryem said Mr Kagame’s revelations about the coup attempt are supported by “evidence “and “precedent” and show just how far international powers can go to change governments in Africa to suit their economic interests.

“I wouldn’t be surprised because there is irrefutable precedent,” said Mr Oryem. “The CIA [America’s Central Intelligence Agency] was greatly involved in the death of Patrice Lumumba [DRC’s independence leader].” He added: “We are aware how some western countries were involved in assisting Idi Amin to overthrow the Obote government. These are things which are possible and there is evidence.”

Mr Lumumba, the first legally elected prime minister of the DRC, was assassinated 51 years ago on January 17, 1961. Mr Kagame admitted he was incensed by constant attempts by international powers to hold Rwanda responsible for whatever goes wrong in the DRC.

“Rwanda cannot take responsibility for Congo’s problems,” he said. “The continued presence of FDLR in DRC has been ignored even as they cause suffering to Congolese and focus has now turned to capturing Bosco Ntaganda. But what we fail to understand is why they elect to drag Rwanda into this when everyone knows this is supposed to be a Congolese problem.”

Mr Kagame made an impromptu visit to Kampala a fortnight ago to meet President Museveni, current chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, over the crisis in eastern DRC.

That meeting, Mr Oryem said, discussed possible ways of “avoiding this situation to escalate and get out of hand.”

He said plans are underway to arrange a meeting “very soon” of all foreign affairs ministers in the region “to discuss the situation in the DRC and give a report to the Presidents on what steps should be taken.”

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