Border row with Sudan stalls construction of road in Uganda

August 16, 2010 (KAMPALA) – An Ugandan official said border row with Sudan halted several development projects in the disputed area including a 66- kilometer road to the Sudanese border.

In statements published by the state-owned newspaper New Vision on Monday, Sylvester Opira, the deputy resident district commissioner of the Ugandan Kitgum district, said land wrangles between the two countries stalled the construction of the 66 road from Kitgum to the Sudanese border.

The Ugandan official pointed out that the Sudanese are claiming about 20 kilometers of land inside Uganda including “parts of Madi-Opei, Agoro, Potika, Lokung and Palabek sub counties”.

“The Southern Sudanese authorities have stopped Ugandan engineers from surveying Kitgum-Madi-Opei road up to the border. The engineers should have started last year but the dispute has stalled it,” he further said.

In December 2009 delegations from the two countries met in Moyo to discuss the border dispute between Uganda and South Sudan but failed to reach an agreement as the Uganda team dismissed Sudanese claims.

During the meeting Kajo Keji commissioner, Muki Batali Bulli, said the Sudanese community of Kuku did not only claim “ancestral” ownership of the 5km-stretch of land that has been at the centre of the conflict but also other areas in Moyo and Yumbe.

He also highlighted that Ugandan refugees occupied parts of the Sudanese territory following the outbreak of the 1979 war in Uganda.

Opira told the New Vision that due to the ongoing dispute authorities from both sides prevented each other from undertaking new projects.

He said they prevented Sudanese from surveying land from Magwli when they “crossed the actual border inside Uganda through Ngomo-romo to Nyimur bridge last year”.

(ST)