War of Words over a Tense Border

"We are being invaded by Kenyans," shrilled Radio Uganda. "Field Marshal Amin is in control of the situation" but "citizens of Uganda should be prepared to give blood."

"Ridiculous," countered Nairobi's Voice of Kenya. "There has been a massive buildup on the Ugandan side, with instructions to strike at a moment's notice." And anyway, "Kenyans are very busy building their country and they do not find provocations from Uganda particularly amusing."

As one war of words faded away at the U.N. in New York, another heated up in East Africa between Uganda and neighboring Kenya. Although the two sides continued to trade insults rather than shots, and nationals of both countries moved freely across the 340-mile frontier, no one could rule out the possibility that Uganda's savage dictator, Idi Amin Dada, might decide to avenge his embarrassment at Entebbe by attacking Kenya.

Amin began the verbal skirmishing with the Kenyans right after they allowed Israeli planes to refuel at Nairobi following the Entebbe raid. Uganda, declared Amin, "reserves the right to retaliate in whatever way possible." Since then hundreds of Kenyans have fled Uganda in fear, carrying tales of extortion, beatings and killings of their countrymen by Ugandan soldiers. This moved Kenyan Foreign Minister Mu-nyua Waiyaki, in a letter to the U.N. last week, to indict Kampala for "systematic and indiscriminate massacre of Kenyan citizens," some 5,000 of whom remain in Uganda.

Fearing Amin. Indeed, Kenyans have been jittery about their western neighbor since February, when Amin suddenly claimed a large slice of their country--along'with a big swatch of southern Sudan--on the basis of some 19th century colonial maps that showed them to be Ugandan territory. Fearing that Amin was concocting an excuse that could be a first step toward obtaining an Indian Ocean outlet for his landlocked state, Kenyans reacted with officially encouraged hysteria. Rallies throughout the country vilified Amin; one group of villagers even offered a $120,000 reward for Amin's head--literally--on a platter.

Kenya's furor apparently forced Amin to back down last February, just as he retreated a bit last week, proclaiming that "Kenyans are the greatest friends of Uganda." However, if Amin were to decide to attack, he could be great trouble for his "friends." His armed forces have more than twice the manpower of the Kenyans' and are vastly superior in artillery and tanks. Even though the Israeli commandos destroyed one-third of the Soviet-equipped Ugandan air force at Entebbe, Amin still retains almost a 3-to-l edge in combat aircraft. Western experts, however, question the loyalty of Amin's officer corps and note that Kenya's forces are somewhat better trained than Uganda's.

Hands Off. Kenyan muscle is primarily economic, and Nairobi began flexing it last week when Kenyan border guards started discouraging truckers from transporting fuel to Uganda. All of Uganda's fuel comes from a Kenyan refinery and, as a Nairobi-based oil executive observed: "Amin's tanks and planes wouldn't get very far into Kenya without gas." In apparent retaliation, late last week the Ugandans seized about 30 Kenyan fuel trucks transiting Uganda on their way to Zaire, Rwanda and Sudan.

In its conflict with Uganda, Kenya is receiving visible support from Washington. The frigate U.S.S. Beary steamed into Mombasa harbor and a pair of Navy P-3 Orion long-range reconnaissance planes flew into Nairobi Airport from the Philippines, after stopping at Diego Garcia, the new U.S. base in the Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, a six-ship Navy task force, led by the veteran carrier Ranger was heading in the general direction of Kenya. Although the Pentagon insists that the visits by the U.S. forces are just "routine," it is clear that they are intended to warn Uganda to keep its hands off Kenya. While it is uncertain what the U.S. would do if Amin were to switch from words to weapons, Washington feels that its display of concern can deter an attack.

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