Kagame blames Kenya and Uganda for long cargo delays

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has complained about neighbouring nations Kenya and Uganda causing delays to imported goods because of the requirement to test truck drivers for Covid-19.

The Rwandan leader’s comments are prompted by long delays for road cargo, as drivers are tested at the border by the Kenyan and Ugandan authorities.

Rwanda is a landlocked country and imports either travel through a northern corridor from Kenyan port city Mombasa, or a route further south from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

President Kagame said “coronavirus is killing people, business and even relationships” and he called the delays “unfair”.

However, he did not mention how Rwanda was the first country in the region to close its borders, at the onset of the pandemic, which disrupted the transport of cargo to Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Kagame’s comments could raise tensions within the East African Community, at a time when the regional bloc needs political unity to cope with the economic impact of the pandemic.