The Karamojong community is located in the north-eastern part of Uganda along the border with South Sudan to the north, the Rift valley around Lake Turkana in Kenya to the west and mount Elgon to the south. Covering about 27,200 sq.km, the region has semi-arid climate with seasonal rainfall and semi-arid savanna plains punctuated by volcanic mountains and rocks kopjes.

The Karamojong districts

It’s the opposite side of the green and fertile south-west Uganda. There are several districts that form Karamojong community. These include Abim, Amudat, Nakapiripiti, Kotido, Napak, Kaboong and Moroto with the largest urban center – Moroto town. These areas are inhabited by the Nilotic ethnic tribes who are largely semi-nomadic pastoralists. Including the Karamojong (the majority) among others such as the Pokot, Matheniko, Bokora, Pian Tepeth, Jie, Dodoth, and Teutho (IK bush men).

All these tribes belong to the Nilotic language family and are closely related to the Masai, Luo and Dinka in Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan. However, most of these tribes especially the Karamojong are patriarchal in nature. The elders are the ones that lead the community and teach young boys plays to preserve the culture of their forefathers. They also take pride in herding their cattle as livelihood and a measure of wealth in society.

Cultural set up of Karamojong

Traditionally, men must own as many heads of cattle as possible to pay pride price and the stronger tribes would often raid cattle from their weaker counterparts. The practice of cattle raiding in Karamoja region in particular is a tradition that has through history changed to be violent. People depend on milk and dairy products such as ghee as staple foods. However, they also practice hunting and cultivation of grains to a smaller extent. Due to the strong cattle culture, these people have for centuries lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle in which they must move from place, season after another in search of water and pasture due to persistent drought. As such, land and water are the most important resources and therefore any changes in land ownership means disruption of their traditions.

Beginning of social unrest

Since the arrival of Europeans and the subsequent introduction of Christianity, education, politics, taxes, a lot has happened in the Karamoja land. The social unrest today could to a higher extent related to the resistance the tribes might have put against some of the social-economic changes. For instance, the government of Uganda has been encouraging them to move away from their ancestral lands through creation of protected areas such as Kidepo Valley National and Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve in the 1960s. The highlights for travelers visiting Karamoja is to take game drive safari, bush walks in either of the destinations as well as go to a local homestead to learn their way of life including Karamoja breakfast.

Tourism development a challenge to the locals

Tourism has great potential to bring good infrastructure, protect the environmental, preserve their culture preservation and create alternative source of livelihood other than depending on cattle. However, the creation of several protected areas shortly before Uganda’s independence which the sector depends is cited to have led to loss of land and largely restricted free movements of the pastoralists.

Political influence of Karamojong

It should also be noted that some of the tribes who mutually depended on each other were politically divided during the colonial period. The boundaries were marked between independent states of Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan. The political division carried on in the post-independence governments. For instance, president Idi Amin after capturing power from Obote (I) established military control of grazing lands around Mount Moroto. When Amin was overthrown in 1979, the Karamojong and other rival tribes had opportunity to acquire guns from Moroto army barracks and reportedly learnt how to make hand-made guns therefore setting ground for violent armed conflicts including cattle raiding and struggle to access land and water for their animals.

Even though cattle raiding was a tradition it wasn’t that violent. In an attempt to regain control of their lost grazing areas, increase cattle and expand territory, conflicts emerged between the Karamojong with violent crashes against other neighboring communities in Teso and Lango. Most of civilians lost their lives and raping of women was reportedly committed by cattle warriors. It’s also cited in paper titled “The Karamojong: A pastoral People Under Colonial Rule” published 22 January 2009 in the Journal of African History that the Ugandan pastoral groups such as Matheniko and Pokot were being attacked by the Turkan from Kenya and therefore had to defend themselves further increasing cross-border insecurity.

After the fall of Idi Amin, the Obote II government put in place military units to stop the Karamojong from raiding the Iteso and Lango. This wasn’t successful given that president Obote was under threat by the National Resistance Army (NRA) which waged war against him in 1980. Many people from pastoral groups especially Karamojong joined the guerrilla war which captured power in 1986 that brought His Excellency president Museveni to power until today. After the war, they went back with more guns and a fresh outbreak of armed cattle raids and insecurity worsened in Karamoja between 1986 to 2001.

For the love to restore peace and security in the region the NRA government carried out several interventions over a period of time including disarming the armed cattle warriors, controlling gun trafficking, implementing peace initiatives within and across the Kenya-Uganda cross-borders. On top of resolving the cattle conflict, there were long standing challenges to deal with including persistent drought and water scarcity, hunger and starvation as well as provision of health care services.

In that regard, Karamoja became a focal point of so many government programs, non-governmental and community-based organizations seeking to restore peace, increase water access for both livestock and humans, improve physical infrastructure among others. The Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Program (KIDDP) was established in 2007. This came after more than 10,000 guns were collected in several Karamoja disarmament phases between 2001 – 2002, 2003 to 2006 and onwards. There was peace for business and people to operate.

Poor land tenure system causes conflicts

Land belongs to Ugandan citizens, according to Article 237(1) of the Constitution, and Article 26(1) protects the right to own property either individually or in association with others, such as groups of people who hold land communally (Handbook on Land Ownership, Uganda). In particular, the people in Karamoja traditionally handled their land under a communal tenure system.

Given that there are different pastoral and non-pastoral tribes, land wasn’t equally owned in which some have huge portions than others. A noteworthy change occurred in 1965 land reforms in which almost 95% of Land in Karamoja was reserved for conservation. The protected areas which were created including Kidepo Valley National Park, Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve in the area where Pokot and Pian tribes live, Matheniko-Bokora Wildlife Reserve where the Matheniko dwell and Karenga Mountains Wildlife Reserve.

The locals could no longer access these conservation areas putting large portions of land into the hands of government rather than communities. This meant that the state had rights to give land to investors including several NGOs that were delivering aid, promoting peace and development into the region. This caused a lot of tension between government and pastoral groups over land rights.

To put some relief, in 2002, the authorities reduced by 53.8 % the total conservation area land. Now to the state owns about 40.8% of Karamoja land according to a survey conducted between by the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in 2003 and April 2016, respectively.

Mineral resources in Karamojong community

Furthermore, over the time the government of Uganda discovered that Karamoja is rich in mineral resources including gold, uranium, limestone, copper among others. Although the quantity of these minerals isn’t clearly known yet, the presence of over 20 different minerals was confirmed during the Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum (UCMP) aerial mineral survey in 2011.

Several mineral development companies expressed interest and huge chunks of land were given to mining companies both local and foreign to explore mineral resources. Some of the mining companies include Tororo Cement, Leadway Uganda Limited, a marble mining company, Samit Group Limited deals with marble stones in Moroto.

Harms Investment deals with gold mining in Lopedo in the Kaabong district; the African Leg Investment deal with limestone excavation in Moroto among others. Besides the mining sector, there are other sectors operating in Karamoja such as Ministry of Water and Environment, Transport and Health.

However, the mining sector has been the most targeted recently by gunmen attacking workers at different sites which have forced investors to flee. The news reported by the Independent Uganda News Paper indicate that three geologists lost their lives earlier this year and insecurity has continued to rise in Moroto and Kabong districts.

That the local youth among the pastoral communities accuse the government of stealing their land resources despite claims that mining sectors provides revenue on sub-county level. Given that the land owned by pastoralists continues to diminish, they are forced to sell their cattle to find alternative ways of survival. “Cattle rustlers have now turned against looting and killing people says Joseph Okurut a resident of Rupa Sub- County in Moroto district because there are no more animals to raid.”

According to Michael Longole, spokesman for the Karamoja Regional Police, joint security forces are working hard to ensure that investors are safeguarded. This means that tourism is still ongoing for those intending to visit Kidepo or Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve.

Uganda has 10 national parks of which 8 are found in the western region. Most travelers go to the west for safari through Queen Elizabeth, Kibale Forest, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Murchison Falls, Lake Mburo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks. These areas are rich in biodiversity with diverse species of wildlife including mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, rhinos, lions, buffaloes and tropical birds. Nature and wildlife is one of the main motives for the 1.54 million visitors received in 2019 of which about 350,000 visited the protected areas. According to the New Vision Paper of Jan 15^th 2022, Stephen Masaba Uganda Wildlife Authority’s director of Tourism and Business Development said that due to the Covid 19 pandemic between 2020 – 2021, the arrival numbers reduced to 473000 due to travel related restrictions. However, the restart of tourism in 2022 has seen almost all global restrictions lifted in particular Uganda borders are now open. Visitors arriving at Entebbe international airport don’t need to test for covid-19 but rather present a negative PCR test carried out within 72 prior to arrival. Consequently, the tourism industry is recovering despite challenges and this year’s World Tourism Day theme – “Rethinking Tourism” tells us to take advantage of emerging opportunities and trends to reconsider how we conduct tourism.

Plastic waste production in Uganda

Prevention of plastic pollution in particular seems to be of concern among the tourism fraternity in Uganda given that the number of tourist arrivals is projected to rise again. Recently, East African nations including Rwanda and Kenya decided to outlaw the entry of single-use plastic objects into their protected areas.  In particular, Uganda had pledged to reduce the use in 2017 following the example of her neighbors. But the law hasn’t been implemented due to a disagreement brought on by the plastics manufacturing industry in the country. The 2009 Finance Act’s Section 2 forbids the importation, local manufacture, sale, or use of plastic bags or bags made of polymers of ethene and polyethene.” The proposed ban was directed at stopping polythene papers (Buveera) and alcohol sachets which have turned out to be most items used therefore creating a lot of waste countrywide.

In general, the daily usage volume of plastic waste in Uganda is estimated to be 600 metric tons according to Uganda Biodiversity Fund. This comes from the increasing industrial production of plastics in form of soft drinks and snacks which feeds the traders operating shops both retail and wholesale. Some of the industries such as Kasese distillers are located in Kasese Municipality and Fort Portal city close to the protected areas including Kibale Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Parks. Chances are high that a considerable amount of plastic waste might be entering the parks as locals and tourists transit through which could harm the wildlife.  

Plastic bags take more than 1000 years to decompose yet the public seems to be lacking a sense of responsibility which puts a burden both financially and environmentally on nature. For instance, the Kampala Capital City Authority report indicates that about 10 billion Uganda shillings ($2.7m) is spent annually to remove plastic waste from drainage channels. The reports shows that only 40% of the estimated waste is collected and properly disposed off and the remaining 60% is left to disappear into the soil, lakes, rivers and forests. This puts at risk the wildlife such as fish and also harms the soil fertility in and around Lake Victoria basin.

What the tourism industry wants to be done about single-use plastics

In this regard, the tourism stakeholders in Uganda are calling the government to look at possible ways of stopping plastic waste from entering into the national parks. Tour operators and hoteliers are encouraged try to find substitutes to single-use plastics they use to pack food and beverages for their guests. This something achievable given that the accommodation facilities within the parks that still use straws, plastic forks, silver plates and can apply proper waste management ways to minimize litter. This might not work voluntarily but laws should be enforced to govern the use and storage of some single-use plastics across the tourism industry.

The Uganda Tourism Board quality assurance department has been enforcing laws regarding quality of services and legality amongst the tour operators, hoteliers and transport providers. The same could be done in regard to stopping the plastic objects from accessing the parks through collaboration with the Uganda Wildlife Authority and other stakeholders. The National Environmental Authority (NEMA) which is one of the stakeholders responsible for implementing the single use plastic ban is tasked with encouraging manufacturers to collect and recycle their waste, sensitize the public and monitor the areas that are prone to plastic pollution. The authority indicates that less than 5% of plastic waste is recycled thus calling for interested investors and artists to take advantage especially in Kampala which accounts for large volumes of plastic waste.

Despite all the proposed measure, the responsibility still lies in the hands of individuals. Locals and international visitors are encouraged to take care and avoid poor disposal of plastic waste.

Tips to reducing plastic items from accessing the parks in Uganda

• Properly dispose of your trash and use as little water and energy as possible. Don’t throw rubbish from the window of a car or drop a water bottle anywhere after using it.
• Buy locally made bags to use when shopping instead of taking plastics from the shop to your home.
• Pack light when traveling
• Choose responsible travel operators and accommodations when booking your safari

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwest Uganda has welcomed two more baby gorillas in the previous week. The first of the two births was reported by the Uganda Wildllife Authority (UWA) on May 13 while the second was announced four days later by the same Authority.

According to UWA, the first baby gorilla was born to adult female female Kebirungi of the Nshongi gorilla family in Rushaga sector while the second belonged to the Christmas gorilla family born by adult female Kiiza in the Nkuringo sector.

“Great News! We are excited to announce our newest mountain gorilla baby, born this week in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Adult female Kebirungi of the Nshongi gorilla family was first seen with her healthy newborn baby on 9th May 2022.” UWA tweeted.

“UWA’s field teams have since been trying to get the first images of the first baby, an effort that was concluded yesterday. This new gorilla brings the total number of individuals in the Nshongi family of Bwindi’s Rushaga sector from 12 to 13. We are so glad to also confirm that both Kebirungi and Bweza, the father, are in good health. Like the meaning in her name (“beautiful”), help us wish Kebirungi’s cute baby a ver long and beautiful life.” UWA added.

On the second birth, UWA wrote;

“It’s a mountain gorilla BABY BOOM in Uganda. Meet the newest member of the Christmas family in the Nkuringo sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.”

“Kiiza is a name given to a child who is born after twins. It is heartwarming to see her bring new life to earth, and is a testimony to the excellent work done by our teams, communities, and partners in conserving these iconic species. We wish them a long and healthy life.”

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Natioanal Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is Uganda’s major home to the endangered mountain gorillas. The Park protects almost half of the global population of these gentle and large primates with over 400 of them living within its boundaries. Bwindi is also the leading destination for Uganda gorilla tours with travellers coming from across the globe to trek these elusive species in their natural habitat. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is Uganda’s second home of mountain gorillas and the park is also popularly known for protecting the endangered golden monkeys.

To trek gorillas in Bwindi or Mgahinga, each trekker is charged $700 for foreign non residents, $600 for foreign residents and UGX250,000 for East African citizens. Majority of tourists who visit Uganda combine their gorilla trekking safaris with other wildlife experiences like game viewing and primate tracking in large game reserves like Murchison Falls National Park in the northwest, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Kibale Forest National Park in the west.

Dry seasons like June to September and December to February are the best seasons for travellers to trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi due to the favourable conditions in the park. Trekking through the thick vegetation and hiking the rugged montane terrain of the park is made much difficult in the rain season due to muddy and slippery conditions. Gorillas are also easily seen during the dry season since they freely move in all sectors of the park.

There is huge excitement at the Uganda-Rwanda border of Gatuna after it was reopened for travellers to cross into either country. The border had been partially reopened at the end of January but only cargo vehicles could be allowed to cross.

Travellers especially from Rwanda had got excited following the announcement of the first reopening but only to be told they could not cross to Uganda due to some diplomatic challenges that were still pending between the two neighbouring countries. However, last week the government of Rwanda announced that the border would be opened this week and all those wishing to travel to Uganda are free to move.

Covid-19 testing at the border

The government of Rwanda emphasised that passengers maybe subjected to random Covid-19 testing upon entry. In addition to this, the government also requires all passengers leaving the country to be fully vaccinated and this also applies to those want to access public places. Those attending events must present negative Covid-19 test results taken within 48 hours before the meeting.

A relief to tourists

Since the border was closed 3 years ago, it has been very difficult for tourists to cross into either country. There are many tourists who cross from Rwanda to Uganda especially those wishing to trek the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which is located close to this border. This is basically because the distance from Kigali to Bwindi is shorter compared to that from Kampala and therefore tourists take less time to reach the park when coming from Rwanda. The reopening therefore presents a huge relief to both tourists and tour operators in both countries.

Revamping trade

The volume of trade between Rwanda and Uganda was really high before the closure of the border with the two countries exchanging goods including agricultural products, merchandise and labour. People living near the border from both countries were one of the most affected when trade was halted since it was so easy to do business across the border. The reopening is therefore warmly welcomed by the business community in both countries who are hoping to resume trade and try to compensate for the losses suffered during the closure.

Reconnecting families and friends

Rwanda and Uganda are indeed sister countries with many families having members either side of the border. This is due to historical factors like wars which forced many people to cross especially from Rwanda seeking safety. This included the Rwanda civil war of 1959 and the recent genocide of 1994 which saw millions of Rwandans fleeing into neighbouring countries including Uganda. Since then, many families had settled and multiplied in Uganda while some of their members decided to go back to Rwanda after the genocide had ended. These keep travelling to visit their relatives in either country though the closure of the border had brought such relations to a painful halt. With the reopening, such families are excited to visit their relatives once again and resume their normal relationships.

A positive sign towards normalising political ties

The decision by the government of Rwanda to reopen the Gatuna border with Uganda has brought back hope to the citizens of both countries that political tensions between the two governments are coming to an end. This was the major factor that had led to the closure of the with both governments accusing each other of several political grounds. Rwanda was accusing Uganda of arresting, detaining and torturing its citizens without trail while on the other hand Uganda accused Rwanda of espionage. However, early this year the two governments attempted to bring such tensions to an end with envoys from Uganda government including Lt.Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a son to President Museveni meeting President Kagame in Kigali. The meetings appeared to have been fruitful when Kigali announced that the Gatuna border would be reopened following the discussions between the leaders.

Archbishop Janani Luwum was a renown human rights activist in addition to his liturgical duties before his mysterious death in 1977. As Uganda marks this day to remember him, the government is under mounting pressure to end torture and other forms of human rights violations that have become rampant in the country.

Who was Janani Luwum and why is he remembered?

Janani Jakaliya Luwum was born in Kitgum, northern Uganda in 1922. He attended Gulu High School and Boroboro Teacher Training college and taught and went on to teach at a primary. He went to Buwalasi Theological College in 1949 after converting to Christianity the previous year.

Luwum started his church services in 1950 when he was attached to St. Phillip’s church in Gulu. In 1953 he was ordained a deacon and then a priest the following year and went to serve in the Upper Nile Diocese of Uganda. He was later transferred to the Diocese of Mbale before being consecrated Bishop of the Diocese of northern Uganda in 1969. In 1974, Luwum was appointed Archbishop of the Metropolitan Province of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga in Zaire. He became the second African to occupy this position.

Arrest and death

On 16 February 1977, Luwum was arrested by authorities after he had issued a note of protest to then president Idi Amin against rampant human rights violations which included arbitrary killings and unexplained disappearances. He was arrested together with two cabinet ministers with whom he was accused of treason. When Idi Amin convened a rally in Kampala, the archbishop was accused of planning to stage a coup and being an agent of former president Milton Obote who had been exiled. After a few days, Luwun and his co-accused were pronounced dead. It was reported on national radio that the three died in an accident when the car transporting them for interrogation collided with another vehicle. The radio added that the accident had occurred when the victims tried to escape by overpowering the driver. However, it was alleged that Luwum was rather murdered after his body was released to his relatives with bullets.

Luwum’s legacy

Archbishop Luwum was survived by his wife Mary Lawinyo Luwum and nine children. He is recognised as a martyr by the Anglican Communion and his statue among the Twelve Century Martyrs at Westminster Abbey in London. He is also honoured on the liturgical calendars of different churches worldwide including England, Wales, Canada, Australia, USA, Brazil, New zealand and Polynesia.

Uganda’s bad human rights record continue

Despite the efforts undertaken by heroes like Janan Luwum to fight against human rights violations which eventually resulted into their death, Uganda continues to struggles overcome the vice. Human rights violation was listed as one of the factors that forced the NRA fighters under president Museveni to topple the previous regime but the vice has persisted through the years of his regime.

Several cases of human rights violations have continued to be reported and majority of these are committed by security personnel. Such cases include unexplained arrests and disappearances, gruesome torture and long periods of detention without trial. There is a limit on the freedom of speech and association where people have been arrested and detained for what they said or wrote and for gathering for different causes.

The most recent examples of such cases include the arrest, detention and torture of author Kakwenza Rukirabasaija who claims to have been severely tortured by security personnels for criticising president Museveni and his son Muhozi Kainerugaba. Another is Samuel Maseruka, the coordinator for the opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP) in Kasesse who was also abducted and tortured for weeks. Opposition politicians have also continued to allege that many of their supporters and coordinators are still being detained in prisons without trial while others are missing with no whereabouts. They accuse the government of being behind all these violations though in order to sabotage and silence critics and the opposition and their support.

Opposition protest in parliament

Recently all opposition members of parliament declared a protest at parliament against continued human rights violations. They decided to abandon parliamentary sittings for two weeks while staging routine protest sittings at the entrance of the house as they demand action from government to give justice to those detained and end the torture.

Senegal beat Egypt 4-2 on penalties on Sunday to win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history. The match finished goalless after extra time before Senegal went on to win on penalties with Liverpool star Sadio Mane scoring the decisive spot kick.

The Lions of Teranga finally won their first Afcon final at the third time of asking after previously losing to Cameroon and Algeria in 2002 and 2019 respectively. Sadio Mane had failed to give Senegal a lead after his penalty was saved by Egyptian impressive goalkeeper Gabaski 3 minutes into the game. However, the 29-year old was not to be denied again when he stepped up to take the decisive penalty which handed his country the trophy.

Mane was also voted player of the tournament while his teammate Edouard Mendy won the best goalkeeper award. Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar won the golden boot award after scoring 8 goals to top the chat.

Relief for Cisse

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse can finally celebrate after winning his first continental title both as player and coach after failing on several attempts. He was captain of Senegal when they the 2002 final to Cameroon with him missing a penalty during the shootout. In 2019 as a coach he also witnessed Senegal failing to lift the title after losing 1-0 to Algeria. However, his patience and perseverance has finally paid off with Sunday’s victory and he has become the first coach to win Senegal the continental title.

Mane-Salah final drama

The two Liverpool teammates went head-to-head against each other in this hotly contested encounter which was bound to end in joy for one and tears for the other. However, there was early unexpected Drama between the pair when Mohammed Salah appeared to reveal Mane’s penalty secrets to his goalkeeper Gabaski as the Senegalese prepared to take spot kick. After noticing, Mane quickly intervened and appeared to be forcing the goalkeeper back to his goal line something which seemed to upset Salah. Shockingly Gabaski went on to save Mane’s penalty which further proved that Salah had really told him the exact position Mane would put the ball. Salah was also involved in another confrontation with the referee who was seen gesturing to hand him his whistle and cards to officiate the match after several complaints from the Egyptian captain.

Salah’s search for Egypt success continues

It was another disappointing night for Mohammad Salah after seeing his second attempt to win silverware and a trophy for Egypt end in failure. He had hoped for success this time after losing the 2017 final to Cameroon but again it was not meant to be. However, the 29 year will not wait for so long to avenge this loss with Egypt playing Senegal again next month in a play-off for a spot in World Cup. The two sides were drawn against each other as one of the five fixtures which will contest in two-legged playoffs to determine the five teams that will represent Africa in this year’s World in Qatar which kicks off in November.

Hosts Cameroon finish third

Cameroon the hosts finished third following the their elimination by Egypt in Semifinals. They defeated Burkina Faso 5-3 on penalties to clinch the third position. Cameroon had to come from 3 goals down to draw 3-3 after extra time and force the game into penalties. Burkina Faso on the other hand settled for fourth after disappointingly surrendering their 3-goal lead.

Ivory Coast to host Afcon 2023

Ivory Coast were officially handed the flag as the hosts of the next tournament in 2023 during the closing ceremony in Olembe stadium. The Elephants endured a disappointing campaign after their impressive start to the tournament ended at Quarter Final after being eliminated by Egypt on penalties. The 2015 Africa champions will hope to make amends at home next year as the hosts and add to their trophy cabined a third title.

The Uganda-Rwanda border post of Katuna has been finally reopened after nearly 3 years of closure. The border was closed in February 2019 following tensions between the two East African neighbors.

Accusations between the two countries

Rwanda closed its side of the border after accusing Uganda of abducting its citizens as well as torturing them and detaining them without trial. The government in Kigali also accused its counterpart in Kampala of supporting rebel groups seeking to topple President Kagame’s regime.

Uganda on the other hand also accused Rwanda of spying on the Kampala government as well as killing its citizens during an incursion in Uganda’s territory in 2019. However, Kigali vehemently denied these allegations.

Fruitless negotiations

Following the closure of the border, negotiations between the countries started in order to resolve the misunderstandings but they were all futile. There were meetings between presidents Kagame of Rwanda and Museveni of Uganda which were chaired by other heads of state including Felix Tshekedi of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and João Lourenço of Angola but they all turned out fruitless as the closure continued.

A breakthrough finally

Following the visit to Kigali to meet President Kagame by Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a son to President Museveni, Rwanda officially announced its plans to reopen the border. This was proceeded by another visit of a special envoy sent by President Museveni to meet Mr. Kagame in Kigali.

It is believed that it was during these crucial visits that major breakthroughs were reached which included Kampala accepting to fulfill demands from Kigali which was the major catalyst in convincing Rwandan to reopen the border.

After the meeting with Lt. Gen Muhoozi, the Ministry of foreign affairs of Rwanda released a statement which announced the intentions to reopen the border.

“Following the visit to Rwanda of Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Senior Presidential Advisor on Special Operations and Commander of Land Forces of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) on 22nd January 2022, the Government of Rwanda has taken note that there a process to solve issues raised by Rwanda, as well as commitments made by the Government of Uganda to address remaining obstacles,” read the statement in part.

“In this regard and in line with the communique of the 4th quadripartite summit held at Gatuna/Katuna on 21st February 2020, the Government of Rwanda wishes to inform the public that the Gatuna borer post between Rwanda and Uganda will be reopened from 31st January 2022.” continued the statement.

It is well documented that both Mr. Museveni and Mr. Kagame were very close friends and supported each other in the 1980s during the battles that brought them to power in their respective countries. However, as time went on, their relationship started to grow sour.

Rwanda Uganda Safaris

The reopening of Rwanda and Uganda border is one way of promoting tourism across the two countries.Apparently, Uganda from Rwanda gorilla tours are common due to the high prices of gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Travelers doing a 1 Day Uganda gorilla trek easily connect from Kigali to Bwindi or Mgahinga Gorilla parks to trek gorillas at a cheaper cost.