The Gatuna border crossing between Uganda and Rwanda is open again.
A Monday meeting between Rawandan President Paul Kagame and Uganda’s advisor to the President, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has resolved a three-year disagreement between the two East African nations.
Rwandan and Ugandan traders have met this decision with excitement because it allows easy transportation of goods from Rwanda to Burundi and the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
"It's been three years since I crossed the border and I am very happy that I can now," says Ugandan truck driver, Waswa Ndugwe Fabrison. "I have told my friends that the business is going to thrive again," adds Fabrison.
As the world over combats the Coronavirus pandemic, Rwandese authorities and health officials urge travelers between the East African nations to observe COVID-19 protocols to limit spread of the life-threatening virus between the two nations.
“By opening borders, we maintain prevention measures. Among them we keep on testing, we request everyone to be tested, especially truck drivers, and we follow up on patients,” says Dr. Edson Rwagasore, division manager at Rwanda Biomedical Center.
Dr Rwagasore adds, “There is a need to keep on stepping up on these measures.”