Three years later, Rwanda opens the border with Uganda

Rwanda Friday announced the reopening of its office wild border With Uganda on January 31 after a three-year shutdown, in a sign of a thaw in strained relations between these two African neighbors.

The move, which was announced in a government statement, follows a visit by the son of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, General Muhuzi Kainirugaba, to Kigali last weekend.

In their meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, both called for the “restore” of bilateral relations.

“Following General Muhuzi Kaynerugaba’s visit to Rwanda (…) on January 22, the Rwandan government took into account that there is a process in place to resolve the issues raised by Rwanda, as well as the Ugandan government’s commitments to remove remaining obstacles,” the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in statment.

“The government is proceeding to inform the public that the Gatuna border post between Rwanda and Uganda will be reopened from January 31,” the ministry added.

Rwanda abruptly closed this crossing in February 2019, in the context of heightened tension in which Kigali accused its neighbors of kidnapping its own citizens and supporting rebels who want to overthrow Kagame. Moaaz