Uganda government officials are set to meet with the Rwandan Ambassador to Uganda to seek answers on the closed border which has since yesterday affected business. According to the govt spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, Rwanda has barred her citizens from coming into Uganda. Addressing the media at the Uganda media centre this morning, government spokesperson, Ofwono […]
Uganda government officials are set to meet with the Rwandan Ambassador to Uganda to seek answers on the closed border which has since yesterday affected business. According to the govt spokesperson Ofwono Opondo, Rwanda has barred her citizens from coming into Uganda.
Addressing the media at the Uganda media centre this morning, government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo said that Rwanda is still not allowing its citizens to cross to Uganda using the Kabale/Kisoro border.
“Rwandese aren’t being allowed to travel and enter Uganda but Ugandan nationals are,” Opondo told press while providing an update on the blockade that started Wednesday evening.
The blockade, Opondo revealed however, had not affected those using air transport.
“Flights have been going on smoothly at Entebbe Airport whether for Rwandair or any other airline. No Rwandans or Ugandans have been affected by this,” he said.
Ugandan trucks loaded with goods are still not allowed to cross the Katuna boarder, and are being diverted to the Mirama Hills Border.
Yesterday (Thursday 28th February 2019), the Rwandan Revenue Authority claimed that this was because of the road construction works on their side of the boarder. However, Opondo says this explanation is not satisfactory since it didn’t explain the stoppage of Rwandan citizens, including school children and those seeking to health services from crossing to Uganda.
‘If it was construction of the road they wouldn’t have prevented their people from coming into the country,” Opondo said yesterday.
He repeated the same message today: “The construction at the Gatuna border (Rwanda) with Uganda is making movement difficult. However, we’ve not received any information about why Rwandese and trucks aren’t entering Uganda.”
At the press conference, Opondo said Rwanda has no reason to close its border, stressing that Uganda is causing no strain between the two countries.
“There’s no witch hunt for Rwandese in Uganda. There’s also nobody from Rwanda being held by the Ugandan authorities for any reason,” He said.
“We would like to send a clear message to Rwanda that there’s no one Uganda is harassing from Rwanda or has in custody.”
There has been simmering tension between Rwanda and Uganda with Rwanda accusing Uganda of aiding dissidents against the Kigali regime. Recently, President Paul Kagame told journalists that the tension between the two countries was because Uganda had opted to listen to rumors by Rwandan exiles in South Africa other than what Kigali is saying.
