UGANDA'S BORDER FEELS IMPACT OF KENYA'S UNREST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000019 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM PREL UG SUBJECT: UGANDA'S BORDER FEELS IMPACT OF KENYA'S UNREST REF: KAMPALA 00012 ¶1. Summary: EconOff traveled to Malaba, Tororo District and to Busia, Busia District on January 3 to monitor border developments and to potentially assist Amcits seeking shelter in Uganda. Immigration and customs officers reported no violent disturbances along the border, but noted that hundreds of Kenyan refugees had sought shelter in Malaba and Busia. Local officials and Red Cross representatives assisting the refugees said additional support was needed. A number of U.S. citizens crossed the border primarily for tourism, with no reports of injury or death, though several Amcits fleeing violence in Eastern Kenya sought assistance from Post on January 2. Cutoff from fuel and Mombasa's port, landlocked Uganda is feeling the squeeze from Kenya's ongoing troubles. End Summary. -------------- American Citizens -------------- ¶2. Ugandan Immigration Officer Robert Cwinyaai told EconOff on January 4 that two Americans headed for the U.S. Embassy in Kampala crossed into Uganda at Busia on/around December 30, and another four entered on 1 January. The two Amcits told ConOff on January 2 that their hotel in Kakamega, Kenya was surrounded by an angry mob of ethnic Kikuyu that only ceased plans to destroy the building when informed that Kikuyu were inside. They reported a large number of burnt vehicles and numerous illegal checkpoints on the road to the Busia border crossing. ¶3. Immigration Officials at Malaba reported that that two Americans entered Uganda on January 1 and another ten on January 10, all for tourism. There were no reports of injuries or deaths at either location. -------------- Kenyans Find Refuge in Uganda -------------- ¶4. Busia Deputy Resident District Commissioner Emily Akullu told EconOff on January 4 that the refugee situation in her town was stable. She said that her office had stepped up efforts to support the estimated 764 Kenyans seeking food and shelter. Akullu noted that 444 of the refugees were staying at a local primary school in Busia and the remaining with families. Cwinyaai also reported a large influx of Kenyan refugees, but noted that more affluent Kenyans had also entered Uganda. ¶5. Busia Uganda Red Cross Manager Steven Wamakota said that he fed refugees and the truck and bus drivers stranded on the Ugandan side one meal on January 3 and another on the January ¶4. Wamakota reported that there were just as many refugees in Malaba, and said that additional resources were needed to support both groups. -------------- Fuel Down To A Trickle -------------- ¶6. Ugandan Customs Officer William Ndawula told EconOff on January 4 that no fuel trucks were expected to cross into Busia that day. He confirmed reports that 34 tankers crossed the border on January 3, adding that between 30 and 40 fuel trucks typically cross the border daily. The January 3 trucks were reportedly escorted from Eldoret and Kisoro, the two points in Kenya where the pipeline from Mombassa ends, by the Kenyan military. Fuel from the Eldoret pipeline is trucked across the Malaba border and from Kisoro at the Busia entrance. ¶7. Julius Favourite, the Malaba customs official, told EconOff on January 3 that few commercial goods other than fuel had crossed the border. He said that the trucks already in route to Kampala had made it to the border before the violence broke out. There was only one truck originating in Mombasa since the unrest that crossed the border on January ¶3. The drivers, two Ugandan nationals, reported that it took them five days to get to the border, a trip that normally takes two. They reported frequent illegal road blocks, and noted that support for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ensured safe passage. ¶8. Comment: Both sides of the border are open, and it appears that operations are slowly returning to normal after several quiet days. Fuel shortages throughout Uganda will likely continue until normal fuel delivery is resumed (septel). Aside from scattered gunshots heard after Kenya's election results were announced, there were no reports of civil unrest or crime on the Ugandan side of the border. The KAMPALA 00000019 002 OF 002 GOU, however, has increased security measures in the region. End Comment. CHRITTON