Uganda has nothing to fear under Tshisekedi – envoy

You have been Uganda’s ambassador to the DR Congo for more than a year now. How are relations between Kampala and Kinshasa?
We have a Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) where the two countries meet every two years and all issues of mutual understanding are brought on table, discussed and agreed upon. The recent JPC was hosted by Uganda and at that event, we signed an agreement on education. We have had thousands of Congolese studying in Uganda without an existing framework.
Then there has been an issue on fisheries. You have heard of clashes on Lake Albert and Lake Edward which have resulted in the loss of lives and property. We have also signed agreements on managing shared water resources. There is also an agreement on energy where Uganda will supply electricity to eastern DRC where they only use thermal power. We have another one [agreement] on trade, especially on harmonising the taxes.

There is the $10b (Shs37 trillion) that Uganda owes DRC in reparations for plundering their resources. What is the update on the negotiations?
We are engaged in negotiations. One is about the amount, and two, we are indicating at mutual level that we are the same people. This has been going on and we last had a meeting in South Africa over the same early last year. Now that there is a new president in DRC, we have to engaged his administration over the same. This should not be threatening to Ugandans because we are handling it and I am sure Congo will settle with us.

A number of Ugandans are imprisoned in DRC and their citizens too are in Ugandan prisons. What are the two countries doing to ensure that they are extradited to face trial back home?
Last October, we had a meeting in Goma (Capital of North Kivu Province) where we agreed that we can exchange those prisoners, though there is no extradition treaty in place. But there was a political ministerial pronouncement. About nine Ugandans who were in prison in Goma were given to me by the governor and I brought them to Uganda.

One of the prominent Ugandans imprisoned in DRC without trail is Mr Sam Mugumya, a former aide to Opposition leader Kizza Besigye. What can the embassy say to those who fancy his return home?
Sam Mugumya is in Ndolo prison in Kinshasa and he is there with his colleagues. We have visited him and we keep visiting him. We keep asking the government of Kinshasa to take him before the courts of law so that we know his case. They are yet to act.

What opportunities exist for the Ugandan business community in the DRC?
Congo is a huge country and mineral rich. As for today, Uganda’s export into Congo is unbeatable. We export about $540m worth of goods annually. The opportunities are mainly for construction materials where Uganda supplies the whole of eastern DRC. Cement, iron bars and other construction materials required in the North Kivu towns like Goma are supplied from Uganda.
However, I normally advise our business community who want to trade in DRC that the laws there are different and complicated. Whoever wants to do business there needs to be acclimatised with their legal regime to avoid problems.

On matters of security, Uganda faces challenges with rebel activities in the eastern DRC. What is being done by the two countries to create sanity?
There is already a mechanism in place. There is what we call oversight mechanism on security where countries within the Great Lakes Region are engaged. As for now, the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) is chaired by Uganda and one of the issues they look at is security in the region. There is also International Conference on the Great Lakes Region chaired by Congo Brazzaville.

On December 30, the DRC people elected a new president and Mr Joseph Kabila handed over power to Mr Felix Tshisekedi. What lessons can we pick from them?
The election was democratically handled. Now there is a president and change of guard. But like any other election on the continent, there were logistical challenges and issues of security challenges.

Talking about a new regime in DRC, what could be the fate of the existing bilateral agreements and discussions since you were engaging the old guard?
The bilateral engagements still stand. It is a new regime but the systems of government, the departments we have been engaging with still remain. And we are very aware that president Tshisekedi understands Uganda and Uganda understands him. So, I am not seeing the working relationship being jeopardised.

Some people noted that Uganda did not congratulate president Tshisekedi and also that President Museveni snubbed his inauguration…
Uganda was represented by the ambassador and many other countries were represented. Remember President Museveni was attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. On the issue of congratulations, it is never late and I know that my President will send a message at the appropriate time.