Museveni Says Rwanda Border Impasse Will Be Resolved

President Museveni has reassured traders that the current border impasse with Rwanda, affecting crossings at the Gatuna post, will be resolved.

According to the President talks are continuing.

"Recently we met the Rwandan leader in Angola and we discussed about the border issue. Leave it to us. Talks shall continue until the matter is completely resolved. It does not make sense to keep talking on radios but what is important is to ensure that the border issue is resolved," he stated.

Rwanda closed the border post back in February, stating that the closure was necessary in order to complete an infrastructure upgrade. The lack of advanced notice and a subsequent directive to Rwandans not to travel into Uganda, however, fuelled tensions between the two nations.

Rwandan officials have accused the authorities in Uganda of abducting citizens and locking them up. Ugandan traders have been advised to use the Cyanika and Kagitumba border posts to travel into Rwanda.

The border closure has resulted in an 85 per cent fall in Uganda’s export earnings to Rwanda. It is hoped that recent trials for the movement of trucks held at the border in June will help pave the way for the permanent re-opening of the border. However, the Rwanda-Burundi border has been closed for two years as a result of a standoff between the two countries.