Nairobi, April 20 -- Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa, the Rwandan businessman who was thrust into the heart of the Uganda-Rwanda diplomatic dispute that led to Rwanda closing its border in 2019, died this week in the United Arab Emirates.

Media reports quoted family sources as saying Rujugiro died at his home in Dubai shortly after dinner on Tuesday night while he watched a movie with a grandson. He was aged 82.

The business mogul and industrialist is known for his investment in Rwanda and Uganda, especially in the tobacco sub sector.

But in the 2019 diplomatic crisis pitting Kigali against Kampala, he was accused of fanning a rebellion against President Paul Kagame's regime. He was accused of financing an exiled opposition group, Rwanda Nat...