Written By Mary Mumbua | |
Rwanda on Monday reopened its land border with Uganda after a three-year closure, signalling a thaw in relations between the two East African neighbours.
The border was closed in February 2019 as political tensions between Kigali and Kampala escalated, threatening two-way trade.
Rwanda announced last week that it would reopen the border as a step toward repairing ties that had been strained by rival accusations of espionage, abductions, and meddling.
It came after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s powerful son Muhoozi Kainerugaba visited Kigali and met Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The main Gatuna crossing post, known as Katuna in Uganda, officially reopened at midnight, and traffic was expected to gather pace throughout the day.
Museveni and Kagame were close allies in the 1980s and 1990s during struggles for power in their respective countries, but relations turned deeply hostile.
Rwanda closed the border after accusing Uganda of kidnapping its citizens and assisting rebels seeking to impeach Kagame.
Uganda, for its part, accused Rwanda of spying and killing two men during an incursion into Ugandan territory in 2019 – an accusation Kigali denied.
Both governments stated last week that they hoped the reopening of the border would contribute to the normalization of relations.
The closure of the Gatuna-Katuna crossing put Rwandan and Ugandan citizens doing business across the border in financial jeopardy. Analysts are urging both governments to compensate traders who have lost money as a result of the closure.
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