Local traders have suffered heavy losses since Uganda closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo for fear of the spread of the Ebola virus .
Leah Masika was on the verge of tears thinking about her precious cargo of plantain bananas, stuck Thursday in a long convoy of trucks on both sides of the border between Uganda and Congo.
Its cargo, destined for Uganda, was starting to lose water and would be lost within hours if nothing was done.
The Ugandan trader was waiting Thursday for permission from the authorities for the trucks to cross the Mpondwe border post, after they were prevented from entering or leaving Uganda as part of strengthened measures to prevent the cross-border spread of the Ebola virus.
"All our goods are now there rotting ," she said.
Frustration
Uganda closed its border on May 27 , nearly two weeks after the Ebola outbreak was declared in Ituri province, in eastern DRC.
In the early days, exceptions were granted in cases of emergency, particularly for humanitarian, freight-related or security reasons.
But authorities in the Ugandan border district of Kasese are now strengthening measures , causing frustration among traders.
Stretching for several hundred kilometers, the border between Uganda and the DRC is crossed by numerous footpaths outside of official border posts .
Mpondwe was the main Ugandan border crossing for informal exports, which were valued at an estimated $131 million in 2023, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
"The border at Mpondwe has about 32 uncontrolled crossing points just on the other side, along its entire length ," said Arafat Bwambale, a surveillance agent in Kasese, in defense of the measures.
Authorities were trying to prevent Congolese nationals from crossing into Uganda through more than 20 trails along the Mpondwe border, he added.
Fifteen confirmed cases
"The Ebola virus destroyed our livelihood ," said Ismail Mumbere, who often worked as a roadside snack vendor on the Ugandan side.
"We were told that trucks could pass but that people were not allowed to cross; however, today, even freight trucks are blocked."
The current epidemic in Congo has reportedly infected more than 1,000 people.
The World Health Organization, while declaring the current epidemic a "public health emergency of international concern", advised against closing borders.
Uganda has confirmed 15 cases of Ebola, all linked to the outbreak in the neighboring country, after some Congolese nationals traveled to Kampala, the Ugandan capital, for treatment even before the outbreak was known.
