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President Museveni (L) and Rwanda's Kagame.

By Peter Nyanje

Dodoma - The Tanzanian government has reached out to President Museveni to help mediate in its simmering row with Rwanda.

According to Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, President Kikwete contacted Mr Museveni, who chairs the 11-member International Conference on Great Lakes region, to leverage for normalisation of relations between the neighbours.

“It is our hope that wisdom will prevail and this issue will be solved amicably,” PM Pinda told Parliament in answer to a question from Leader of the Opposition Freeman Mbowe.

Relations between Dar es Salaam and Kigali got strained when President Kikwete suggested in May during an African Union meeting in Ethiopia that the Rwandan government should talk peace with Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda rebels hibernating in eastern DRC.

The suggestion infuriated Kagame’s government which considers the largely-Hutu grouping a collection of genocidaires that should be annihilated or prosecuted for their alleged ignominious role during the 1994 genocide that killed an estimated 800, 000 Rwandans.

Tanzania followed his rhetoric with expulsion of thousands of herdsmen of Rwandan origin, most of who crossed to Uganda.

In his comments yesterday, Prime Minister Pinda admitted relations between Rwanda and Tanzania were frosty, but said their neighbour had exaggerated the fall-out.

The opposition had raised fears that a tripartite alliance between Mr Kagame, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta and President Museveni – manifested in their deal-rich joint meeting in Kampala followed by the launch on Wednesday of the largest berth in Mombasa - showed Tanzania was likely being side-lined on lucrative infrastructure investments on Rwanda prodding.

Rwanda was likely having an upper hand in diplomatic offensive following the strained relations, Mr Mbowe said, before asking how the Tanzanian government planned to address the problem. Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Louis Mushikiwabo did not receive our telephone to respond to Dar es Salaam’s overtures.

In Kampala, Presidential spokesman Tamale Mirundi said he was “not aware” of Mr Museveni’s involvement, and Foreign Affairs officials were not available for comment.

Earlier, the Tanzanian PM rejected the notion had culminated in his country being marginalised by East African Community bloc members.

Latest regional deals have been signed behind the back of both Tanzania and Burundi, and President Museveni told journalists after a June 25 meeting in Entebbe with presidents Kenyatta and Kagame that there was no harm in making decisions and briefing other peers later.