DRC strike takes toll on Uganda’s business at Mpondwe border

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT  | The business has come to a standstill at Mpondwe—Lhubiriha, the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kasese, following a sit-down strike by the traders at Kasindi.

A long queue of heavy vehicles destined to the Democratic Republic of Congo stretches on the Ugandan side of the border after traders blocked access of Ugandan vehicles into their territory.

A Congolese national who talked to Uganda Radio Network at the Mpondwe border post, on condition of anonymity, said that the Congolese are protesting against the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission (Monusco) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for failing to protect them against violence.

More than 100 people have been killed by either the Mai Mai militia or the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in Eastern Congo Since November 5 this year. The strike started on November 29.

The ADF whose roots are traced in Uganda has plagued North Kivu Province of the DRC for more than a decade while the Mai Mai is a local militia which has repeatedly attacked health facilities and Ebola treatment centres on grounds that Ebola is a hoax only created to cause fear in the population.

Congolese protesters in the town of Beni recently set ablaze the Mayor’s office and several United Nations buildings in anger after 27 people were allegedly killed by the ADF.

Another national said they want the United Nations team to vacate DRC, accusing them of doing little or nothing to protect them against wrong elements that are senselessly taking on life.

Franco Kaseru, a shopkeeper at the border says the Congolese who are major buyers of his commodities have remained in their country which has left him without earnings since the strike began.

Kasese Resident District Commissioner Lt. Joe Walusimbi says the security forces are on high alert to ensure that the protests in the DRC do not spill into Uganda. He, however, acknowledged that the standoff was affecting businesses within Uganda at the border town of Mpondwe.

Walusimbi also appealed to Ugandans to remain vigilant during this time so that wrong elements don’t exploit this window to also cause instability in Uganda.

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