Uganda’s Internal Security Organization (ISO) officials and locals at Katuna have claimed that Rwanda Defense Force troops are heavily deployed along the border.
The deployment is visible in the hills at Mukaniga, Byumba and Buganza,ISO claimed.
There is also a heavy troop presence on the Rwandan side of the border near the town of Chanika in Kisoro district.
Uganda’s Prime Minister, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda has said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to normalise the flow of traffic along the border.
Meanwhile business runs along the common border have been hitting dead ends since the decision by Rwanda to unilaterally close the border.
Truck drivers have been stranded for a sixth day on Monday as Rwanda maintains a border blockade at Gatuna and Chanika posts as witnesses on the Ugandan side of the border speak of Rwandan troop movements along nearby hills.
On Wednesday last week Rwanda blocked cargo trucks and buses from Uganda to reportedly pave the way for the upgrading of the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at the Gatuna border outpost.
Loaded trucks from Uganda have formed a 1 and a half kilometres long queue from the Katuna border waiting to cross to the other side.
The Commissioner of Customs for the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) Dickson Kateshumbwa, has written to his counterpart in Rwanda urging him to quickly find a resolution of the current impasse at the Katuna border post.
In the letter Kateshumbwa says ten Rwandan trucks, 49 from Uganda, 37 from Kenya and nine from Burundi all carrying an assortment of goods remain stranded at the border due to the protracted closure.
He claims that some of the goods the trucks are laden with are perishables, including mangoes and cassava.
He also expressed disquiet that 17 Kenyan trucks are carrying highly inflammable substances and remain stuck at the two countries’ common border.
“Therefore considering the potential risk of these highly inflammable products as well as potential deterioration of value in the case of perishables. It is prudent that we take steps to unclog the border by facilitating the consignments that are already at the border having arrived before notice” Kateshumbwa’s letter adds.
The Rwandan authorities have advised the trucks to turn to the border around the Mirama hills but the drivers say it is a long distance to Kigali compared to the Katuna border.
According to Katuna Town Council Chairperson, Nelson Nshangabashaija, the distance from Katuna to Kigali is 87.8 kilometres while from Mirama border to the capital is a 185.9 kilometre journey.
Traders who are bearing the brunt of this border crisis are calling on the Ugandan and Rwandan authorities to work out an amicable solution to the simmering dispute.
The closure of the border comes against the backdrop of simmering tensions between the two neighbours with Kigali accusing Kampala of aiding dissidents fighting to bring down the government of President Paul Kagame.
On Friday, the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Richard Sezibera released a tweet warning his compatriots against travelling to Uganda due to what he called hostility from its neighbour.