The last minute cancellation of a Coalition of the Willing (CoW) meeting in Kampala last week could be a pointer to ongoing efforts to bring Tanzania back into the fold, after a year that put the future of the East African Community (EAC) into question.

The EastAfrican has learnt that as part of efforts to stop the rift between CoW partners — Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda — and Tanzania from widening further, it has been agreed that all partner states and the EAC secretariat will be invited to future infrastructure meetings geared towards developing the northern corridor.

Speaking at the opening of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) meeting in Kampala on January 21, President Yoweri Museveni spoke of ongoing efforts to bring Tanzania back to the table.

He said that the Summit had talked and agreed to involve Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete in the planned infrastructure projects and in the removal of non-tariff barriers that are currently being undertaken on the northern corridor.

Tensions

This comes as fears emerged that the newly formed alliance between a Rwandan rebel force based in DR Congo and Rwandan opposition groups is threatening to trigger regional tensions following reports that the coalition could be soliciting support from regional countries.

Two weeks ago, a faction of Socialist Party (PS) Imberakuri loyal to jailed politician Bernard Ntaganda together with Rwanda Dream Initiative led by former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu announced that they had formed an alliance with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

READ: Unease in Kigali as opposition ties up with FDLR

FDLR are remnants of the militias accused of committing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The rebel group has been hiding in DR Congo since 1994. It has been accused of committing human atrocities and has been categorised by the US as a terrorist group.

The alliance prompted the Rwandan government to issue a warning to those allied to FDLR, pointing out that they will be considered terrorists too.

However, the new alliance is likely to play into regional tensions with new allegations that the alliance, dubbed Common Front for the Liberation of Rwanda-FCLR Ubumwe, could be looking for support from regional countries.

News of Rwanda, a local website in Rwanda linked to top government officials and security organs, reported last week that Rwanda’s first premier after the genocide, Faustin Twagiramungu, was in Dodoma in Dar es Salaam where he was “a special guest” of President Kikwete.

The website further claimed that Mr Twagiramungu arrived in Tanzania on Sunday, January 19 and was hosted at secret locations under the direct protection of President Kikwete’s official detail.

According to sources privy to issues within the camp, Mr Twagiramungu was brought on board to use his clout to lobby for talks between the government and Rwandan opposition groups abroad, including FDLR.

If the reports of Mr Twagiramungu’s presence in Tanzania are anything to go by, it is believed that the plan would be to persuade President Kikwete to urge other regional leaders in the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region to urge Kigali to come to the negotiation table.

But the latest developments are likely to irk Kigali, which maintains that the FDLR is a terrorist organisation that cannot be invited to talks with a legitimate government. However, Kigali said that FDLR can repatriate through the existing platforms if they renounce rebellion.

Tanzania has denied any knowledge of the visit, accusing Rwandan media of trying to smear President Kikwete. The fresh claims come months after Rwanda and Tanzania resolved a diplomatic spat ignited by the Tanzanian leader’s suggestion that Rwanda should talk to the FDLR rebels as part of a permanent solution to the conflict in Eastern DR Congo.

READ: Analysis: Powers behind Rwanda-Tanzania ailing relations

Juma Abdulla, Tanzania’s Deputy Minister for EAC Affairs, confirmed that talks to reconcile the parties were on-going but refused to discuss the details. “How can you ask me to comment about something that is being discussed by the presidents?” he asked in response to probing by this paper.

Dr Abdulla however said that now that Kampala, Nairobi and Kigali had introduced best practices of the Single Customs Territory, he would report to President Kikwete and Tanzania would implement them based on its best interests.

“If it now takes three days to move goods from Mombasa to Kampala, I will explain the outcome of this Single Customs Territory to President Kikwete, and then he can make a decision on how we can follow this best practice,” he said.

President Museveni also added that Uganda already has a railway link with Tanzania and the region would further develop this project. Kenya has already started work on the standard gauge railway that goes through Uganda to connect to Kigali but Tanzania is carrying out feasibility studies on one that connects to Port Bell in Kampala.

But this project appears to have been shelved following differences between Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda.

READ: Kenya launches CoW line, Dar unveils alliance

Retreat

In November 2012, the five presidents from East Africa had a retreat on infrastructure where they agreed to implement different infrastructure projects.

Dr Abdulla says that the isolation of Tanzania by the coalition of the willing meant that his country would have to choose between implementing half the project or cancelling it altogether.

“That is why we said that the meeting of Coalition of the Willing was wrong because we all have common infrastructure programmes,” he said.

He, however, said that this has been resolved as the presidents agreed to always pass on information whenever they meet.

This position is supported by Phyllis Kandie, chair of the EAC Council of Ministers, who is also the Cabinet Secretary in charge of East African Affairs.

“As chairperson of the council, I wish to reconfirm that there were consultations between partner states that dealt with the issues that fuelled suspicions and threatened to divide our people,” she said.

Ms Kandie said that as a consequence of these consultations, it was resolved that partner states would make regular consultations on implementation of the projects that Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda have been working on under the CoW.

These consultations would include the invitation of Tanzania, Burundi and the EAC secretariat to future infrastructure meetings of the CoW.

By Dicta Asiimwe and a Special Correspondent