Ugandan travelers blocked as Rwanda reopens border after three-year closure

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) cargo scanner positioned at Katuna/Gatuna border after the first  cargo truck from Rwanda was cleared on Monday morning. The border has finally been reopened by Rwanda following three years of closure. 
PHOTO/ ROBERT MUHEREZA 

What you need to know:

  • At around 9am, the first cargo truck to enter Uganda through the border was seen being towed by a grader after it failed to wade through the muddy and slippery ‘no man's land’ road section that is currently still under construction.
  • The Kisoro LCV chairman, Mr Abel Bizimana and the LCV chairman for Kabale District, Mr Nelson Nshangabasheija told this reporter that hey had received communication from Rwandan officials that only cargo trucks are allowed to cross into Rwanda and not passenger vehicles as the border had not officially been reopened.

Rwanda on Monday reopened its land border with Uganda after a three-year closure, signalling a thaw in relations between the two East African neighbours.
The frontier had been closed in February 2019 as political tensions between Kigali and Kampala spiralled, leading to the near collapse of two-way trade.
Rwanda announced its decision to reopen the border last week as a step towards repairing ties which had been soured by various rival accusations of espionage, abductions and meddling.

It followed a visit to Kigali by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's powerful son,Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, where he met Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The main Gatuna crossing post, known as Katuna in Uganda, officially reopened at midnight, and traffic was expected to gather pace throughout the day.
At 7:40am, a Rwandan man, Jean Marie Vianney Murwanashyaka became the first person to cross into Rwanda using the Gatuna border.


Immigration officers cleared him and gave him a mask. Later, he got his second Covid-19 jab from Rwanda Biomedical Centre staff at the border.

At around 9am, the first cargo truck to enter Uganda through the border was seen being towed by a grader after it failed to wade through the muddy and slippery ‘no man's land’ road section that is currently still under construction.
However, Ugandan passengers and travellers who attempted to cross the border told this reporter that they had been denied entry into Rwanda.
Rwandan authorities at the border were reportedly asking for identification documents, and only Rwandan nationals were allowed to cross. 

The Kisoro LCV chairman, Mr Abel Bizimana and the LCV chairman for Kabale District, Mr Nelson Nshangabasheija told this reporter that hey had received communication from Rwandan officials that only cargo trucks are allowed to cross into Rwanda and not passenger vehicles as the border had not officially been reopened.
By the time of filing this report, officials from both sides were locked in a meeting. 
Rwanda shut the frontier after accusing Uganda of abducting its citizens and supporting rebels seeking to topple Kagame.
Uganda in turn accused Rwanda of spying as well as killing two men during an incursion into Ugandan territory in 2019 -- a claim Kigali denied.

Mr Museveni and Mr Kagame were close allies in the 1980s and 1990s during struggles for power in their respective countries, but relations turned deeply hostile.
Both governments said last week they hoped the border reopening could contribute to the normalisation of ties.
Before the closure, Ugandan exports to Rwanda -- predominantly cement and food -- totalled more than $211 million in 2018, according to World Bank figures, while Rwanda exported $13 million worth of goods to Uganda. 
Trade plummeted in 2019, with the situation further exacerbated by the Covid crisis.
Additional reporting by AFP