Uganda diverts DRC-destined goods from Katuna, Cyanika border posts

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The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has diverted goods destined for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) away from the Katuna and Cyanika border posts. 

URA cites what it is calling the critical situation developing in 'our neighbouring trading partner, the DRC' and a request by the Congo government for the decision.

In a memo dated March 3, 2025, URA advises Ugandan traders to divert goods declared for Katuna and Cyanika to alternative DRC entry points.

URA says "it is internationally recognised that Goma (final destination to Cyanika) and Bukavu (final destination to Katuna) are no longer under control of the central government of DRC". The lack of control has led to significant revenue losses to goods destined for the two towns.

According to URA commissioner of the customs department Asadu Kigozi Kisitu, to mitigate significant revenue losses, all goods bound for the DRC must be declared for exit through designated border posts, excluding Katuna, Bunagana, Cyanika, Ishasha River, Busanza and Kyeshero.

“The necessary systems will be configured to temporarily deactivate these border posts for transiting goods to the DRC,” he says.

Kisitu adds that the directive takes immediate effect and will remain in force until the political situation improves or further instructions are given.

The development follows a weeks-long advance in a region rich in mineral resources but blighted by various conflicts over the past 30 years, has seen the M23 and its alleged Rwandan allies gain a significant foothold.

M23 fighters took control of South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu just over a week ago, after capturing Goma, the capital of North Kivu and main city in the country's east, late last month.

More than 400,000 Congolese, mainly women and children, have arrived in neighbouring Burundi since February for international protection, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported last week. In North Kivu, over 500,000 people were forced to flee their homes in January alone.

Attempts for peace

Several attempts to bring DRC and M23 to the negotiating table with calls from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community calling for the resumption of direct negotiations.

EAC and SADC recently jointly announced that they had designated former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as the facilitators of their joint peace process in the DRC.

However, DRC president Felix Tshisekedi has snubbed calls for talks with M23 rebels, branding it a terror outfit.

In an X, formerly Twitter, post on February 27, 2025, by the DRC Presidency, Tshisekedi said he cannot negotiate with an entity that has no legitimacy and that M23 is a terrorist movement responsible for serious crimes on Congolese soil.

Tshisekedi’s resolve followed reports that "more than 7,000" people have been killed in the east of the country since January when the M23 group seized two major cities.

Tshisekedi also listed other reasons for his refusal to negotiate with the M23: DRC is a sovereign state, M23 wants to negotiate to defend the interests of Rwanda and not those of the DRC and that M23, as an armed group, must refer to the Nairobi Process.