The government of Rwanda has announced that it is re-opening it Gatuna border with Uganda.
Rwanda says on January 31, 2022 the border will be opened after a closure of two years. It was closed in 2020 by Rwanda under the guise of expanding its construction.
“Following the visit to Rwanda of Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations and Commander of Land Forces of Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) ON January 22, 2022, the government of Rwanda has taken note that there is a process to solve issues raised by Rwanda, as well as commitments made by the government of Uganda to address remaining obstacles” reads the statement.
It further continues “In this regard and in line with the communique of the 4th Quadripartite Summit held at Gatuna/Katuna February 21, 2020, the government of Rwanda wishes to inform the public that the Gatuna border post between Rwanda and Uganda will be re-opened from January 31, 2022”
Sources in Kampala say that although Kigali has used excuse of other issues to portray as if Uganda was in need of the re-opening of the border, the real pressure has been coming from Rwandan citizens as they were in need of crossing to Uganda to look for employment and food. It is on record that many Rwandans were killed and have been shot by their own forces while crossing into Uganda for food.
The statement further says both countries will put #Covid-19 guidelines and SOPs in place before the full re-opening.
“As it is the case for other land border posts in the country, health authorities of Rwanda and Uganda will work together to put in place necessary measures to facilitate movement in the context of #Covid-19. The government of Rwanda remains committed to ongoing efforts to resolve pending issues between Rwanda and Uganda and believes that today’s announcement will contribute positively to the speedy normalization of relations between the two countries”
