By Sophan Nwamanya
apearlnews.com
The Rwandan government has finally agreed to re-open its border with
Uganda, three years after its closure.
The Uganda-Rwanda borders were closed by the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame.
Kagame on February 27, 2019. Kagame issued a travel advisory to his
nationals against traveling to Uganda, saying their safety is not
guaranteed.
Ugandan authorities, according to Kagame, are abducting its citizens.
We lock them up in non-designated areas. Kagame also accused Uganda of
hosting and facilitating dissidents, particularly from the Rwanda National Congress
Congress-RNC and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda
The FDLR, which has declared war on the Kigali government,
In a statement tweeted by the state media house, Rwanda Broadcasting
Agency (RBA) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation in the wee hours of Friday morning. Rwanda affirms that
The border will reopen on October 31.
The statement in a tweet indicates that the promise to reopen follows
The visit by Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Senior
Presidential Adviser on Special Operations and Commander of Land Forces
of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) to Kagame in Urugwiro
They had a cordial and in-depth conversation.
There are discussions going on about how to improve bilateral relations between the two countries.
countries.
“Following the visit to Rwanda of Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Senior
Presidential Adviser on Special Operations and Commander of Land Forces
On January 22, 2022, the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) announced the
The government of Rwanda has taken note that there is a process to solve
Raised by Rwanda on issues such as human rights and government commitments
of Uganda to address remaining obstacles. In this regard and in line with
With the communiqué of the 4th Quadripartite Summit held at
On February 21, 2020, in Gatuna/Katuna, the Government of Rwanda wishes to
To inform the public that the Gatuna border post between Rwanda and
“Uganda will be reopened on January 31, 2022,” reads the tweet.
Muhoozi’s visit also led to the release of Ronald Arinda, 23, a UPDF
A soldier attached to the Special Forces Command (SFC) who had been
Arrested by Rwandan security operatives on November 27, 2021, from a
A few meters from the cattle market in the Burera district of Northern Province.
away from the Uganda-Rwanda border.
Relations between the countries also soured after an investigation.
Last year, it was found that Rwanda used Israeli Pegasus spying software to
hack into the phones of Uganda’s Prime Minister and the Foreign
Among those present were the Foreign Minister and others.
The impasse between the two countries suffocated businesses in the
While these sub-countiesare located along the border, leading to an increase in
smuggling. As a result, many people, both Rwandan and Ugandan nationals,
Some have been shot to death and others injured by Rwandan authorities.
