Ray of hope as more trucks cross between Uganda and Rwanda at Katuna

By Sophan Niwamanya

apearlnews.com

The increasing number of trucks using the Katuna border point as a transit route to and from Kigali has raised hopes among residents and business operators at the border.

Our reporter visited the border on the second day since it reopened following a close to 3-year shut down and found residents joyous over the current progress.

Honest Tahinduka, a 28-year old private clearing agent at the Katuna border, says that when the border closed, he joined iron ore mining to earn a living. At a time,

After clearing 3 trucks since Monday , Tahinduka is optimistic that his life will improve and be better again.

Ivan Kakuramasi, another clearing agent attached to NICO Company, said that he had cleared 3 cargo trucks since yesterday. Kakuramasi, who has been operating from Mirama Hills, says that they have struggled with spending a lot of money on renting accommodation while at the Kagitumba border post, says that the resumption of business in Katuna will help him save a lot since he is a resident of the area.

Anastazi Nsenga, a money changer at the border who has been in the business for 10 years, says that since the border re-opened on Monday, he has exchanged money for 10 people. Nsenga says that though the numbers are still lower than they used to be in the past, there are signs that better days are yet to come.

Joy Sanyu, a bar and accommodation operator, said that since yesterday she had served over 50 clients at her bar, an experience she had not had since the border closure. To her, the current signs are evident enough that life could soon be as it used to be before.

At press time, 11 trucks had crossed the border, with 8 arriving from Rwanda and 3 from Uganda, as more cargo trucks continued to embrace the reactivated route.

Iddi Magada, a truck driver we met on his way to Kigali, expressed a lot of joy to see that he could cross from Uganda-Rwanda via Katuna, a journey he last took in February, 2019. Magada said that he would spend USD 1.5 million on fuel to use the Mirama Hills-based Kagitumba border post. While using Katuna, Magada saves about 500 k due to the shorter nature of the route.

At the time of filing this story, 32 people had crossed the border, and most of them, apart from truck drivers, were Rwandan citizens returning home.

It is at this point that we met Aldrine Mukamgenzi, a mother of three who has been operating her business from the Kiboga district. This woman had failed to raise USD100,000 for a PCR COVID-19 test and was still stranded at the border.

Despite the border re-opening, non-essential travelers are still discouraged from crossing the border until further communication is announced.