By Rogers Wanambwa 

KIU, Main Campus – Rwandan authorities announced that they would be reopening their border with Uganda as soon as January 31st, 2022, marking an end to the three-year closure of the border. 

The announcement comes after a diplomatic visit of the Commander of Uganda's Land Forces, Lt. Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with Rwanda's president, H.E Paul Kagame, and many other diplomatic missions over the period. 

Rwanda first closed the busy border crossing at Gatuna in February 2019. Subsequent talks mediated by Angola and Congo appeared to fail to resolve the dispute, compelling Uganda to negotiate privately with Rwanda.

According to the announcement by the Rwandan government, the border will officially reopen Monday. The statement said it remained committed to the efforts to resolve pending issues and believes the announcement “will contribute positively to the speedy normalization of relations between the two countries.”

This development is positive news for Rwanda and Uganda after years of suffering for businesses that lost markets and other opportunities. Uganda, whose exports were denied a significant market in Rwanda, appeared to lose more at the height of the trade embargo.