A diplomatic row is brewing between Rwandese, Ugandan business community and the Kenyan Government over a deal which the two states have accused the Kenyan Government for failing to abide.
In the wake of the post election violence, the two neighboring countries are said to have incurred insurmountable losses over the violence that erupted following the Kenya’s disputed presidential polls.
A total of KES. 5 billion which is said to have been signed upon by President Mwai Kibaki as compensation for the destruction of their trucks and goods which were caught in the mayhem along the Northern Corridor (Nairobi-Eldoret-Kampala Highway) is the subject of the brewing controversy that is set to cause diplomatic schism between the regional states.
According to Kampala City Traders Association (Kacita) and Rwanda’s Federation of East Africa Freight Forwarders Association (FEAFFA), it’s been four years ever since the Kenyan President entered into an agreement with the traders and offered to compensate the affected persons. The agreement was reached at during a meeting convened at Harambee House in the month of January. Up to date, the matter has never been addressed.
They have threatened to take a stern action by disrupting the harmonious relations between them and Kenya and already plans are underway to hold peaceful demonstrations in Kampala at the Kenya High Commission offices, should the status quo remain as it is by the end of this month.
In a statement read to members of the press in Kampala, Kacita spokesman Issa Sekitto said, “We do fear of a likely repeat of what transpired during the 2007/08 Post Election Violence in Kenya and as a result, we are now planning to divert our goods through the Dar-es-Salaam Port. The Kenyan Government can only assure us through a compensatory note that the affected traders will be compensated for the losses they incurred by the end of this month.”
East African Community Minister Musa Sirma has however insisted that the matter would be addressed in a matter of days as talks are ongoing between the involved parties. He went further ahead to assure the affected traders from both Rwanda and Uganda that an amicable solution shall be reached at and a resolution made.
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