Revealed: The Ruto-Museveni grand fallout

Uganda has taken Kenya to court over an oi limportation dispute, signalling souring relations between Museveni and Ruto who were previously seen as close friends.

Such tensions were intense in the 1970s when Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Uganda’s Idi Amin were at loggerheads over ideology and chest-thumping.

When Kenya celebrated 60 years of independence in December, the notable absence of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame spoke volumes.

That they were not invited—as the Kenyan government later explained—signified Kenya’s uneasy relations with some members of the East African Community.

Such tensions were intense in the 1970s when Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Uganda’s Idi Amin were at loggerheads over ideology (for Nyerere) and chest-thumping for Amin.

Of late, there has been talk of a fallout between President Museveni and President William Ruto. But President Museveni is not alone.

In July last year, opposition leader Raila Odinga claimed that State House snubbed President Suluhu after she flew to Nairobi to mediate between Azimio la Umoja One Kenya and Kenya Kwanza’s violent wrangling over the cost of living and conduct of the 2022 General Election.

Uganda has taken Kenya to the East African Court of Justice after Nairobi denied its government-owned oil marketer a licence to operate locally, and handle fuel imports headed to Kampala.