Vurra boundary demarcation starts

Aruu.

The governments of Uganda and DR Congo have commenced the process of demarcating the disputed Vurra customs boundary.
The four-day exercise started with meetings between officials from both countries at Dissa Hotel in Aruu town, eastern DR Congo, on Tuesday.

Uganda was represented by Uganda’s Ambassador to DRC, Mr James Kinobe, while Mr Jean Pierre Massala, the head of protocol at DR Congo Embassy in Kampala led the Congolese team. It is expected that the symbolic demarcation will be held on Saturday.

The function expected to be presided over by Lands minister Daudi Migereko will be witnessed by Congolese ministers and officials from both countries.

While opening the first sitting in Aruu on Wednesday, Mr Kinobe said: “The demarcation exercise will not be a barrier but a bridge to link the two countries for easy trade and communication. We should not be divided over borderlines,” Mr Kinobe said.

Meanwhile, Mr Massala commended the two governments for initiating the demarcation exercise, saying this would help in reducing the rate of insecurity at the border point between the people of Vurra in Uganda and those of Aruu in DRC.
He said all conditions for the demarcation exercise have been fulfilled and promised that peace will prevail at the border for better service delivery.

Residents of Uganda and DRC have for long been fighting over the ownership of the no-man’s land at the border. This is after a section of Congolese locals started erecting structures on the land without any formal agreement over its usage.

However, a joint technical committee was later formed by President Museveni and his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila to expeditiously address the matter.

The committee held their first meeting in Bunia in August last year which was followed by several other bilateral meetings that have finally yielded fruits leading to the demarcation exercise slated for this weekend.