A Ugandan citizen has sued the government of Rwanda over what he terms as an illegal closure of border posts for close to a month. He dragged the Rwanda government to the East African Court of Justice.
Mr. Steven Kalali, an advocate filed his petition at the registry of the East African Court of Justice at the Supreme Court in Kololo, Kampala. He says he is aggrieved by the conduct of Rwandan President Paul Kagame who he accuses of ordering immigration and revenue officials at the border posts not to allow Ugandan citizens and traders to cross into the country over unjustified reasons.
In a petition he filed against the Attorney General of Rwanda, Mr Kalali contends that what Rwanda has done defeats the spirit of the East African Treaty, Free trade and Common Market Protocol since the closed border posts were also serving other countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
According to the Daily Monitor, Mr Kalali wants the justices at regional court, to order Rwanda open its borders that have been closed since February 28, opened, to allow a free movement of Ugandan citizens and goods in the spirit of free trade.
The closure affected hundreds of cargo trucks destined for Rwanda. The Rwandan authorities advised the truck drivers to turn back and use Mirama Hill border in Ntungamo District, which is 100 kilometers away.
It’s important to note that in March, Uganda considered petitioning the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania, to challenge what it perceived as Rwanda’s economic sabotage in breach of the regional bloc’s guidelines.
According to reports, Mr Philemon Mateke, the State minister for Regional Cooperation, said that he would confer with his senior line minister, Mr Kirunda Kivejinja, on the petition “because interfering with cross-border trade by Rwanda violates the East African Community guidelines yet it (Rwanda) is the chair of the community.”
President Kagame, the immediate past African Union chairman, succeeded President Museveni as EAC chair in February amid rising tension and long-standing counter-accusations, including claims that either government is propping up subversive elements against the other.
