Uganda's border posts with the DR Congo and South Sudan

Elegu and Nimule on the South Sudan border

Daily Monitor reported on 26 November 2018 that URA had received the Elegu OSBP from the contractor, Seyani Brothers. It said the post cost US$6.6 million. TradeMark East Africa funded construction with DFID support. Canada funded the integrated border management system and the Government of Uganda paid for land and VAT ¹.

The same report gave a June 2013 baseline of 59 hours 50 minutes to cross from Elegu to Nimule. URA records showed about 381 vehicles a day going from Elegu to Nimule and 308 coming back ¹.

The EastAfrican reported on 27 November 2020 that the post was built for US$5 million and commissioned in February 2020. It said the OSBP ran at about a quarter of capacity. Only police and army staff were on the South Sudan side, and the Uganda side had customs, URA, UNBS, immigration, agriculture and health inspectors ². URA reported about 200 trucks a day crossing into South Sudan ².

Mpondwe and Kasindi

Daily Monitor reported on 17 April 2019 that President Museveni was expected to open a one stop post at Mpondwe-Lhubiriha, Kasese District. It gave a cost of US$5 million from the World Bank IDA under the Great Lakes Trade Facilitation project ³.

A later URA article reports that phase one of the Mpondwe-Lhubiriha border market and the Mpondwe OSBP were commissioned. It calls Mpondwe the eighth OSBP and gives export figures to November 2022 ⁴. Kasese District Local Government says the OSBP brings together security, URA and the Ministry of Trade, and will serve over 25,000 traders ⁵.

The URA article says traffic at Mpondwe fell from about 3,500 trucks a month before the DRC insurgency to about 2,400 ⁴. It gives Uganda's exports to the DRC as UGX 358.666 billion in 2021 ⁴.

Goli, Bunagana and other DR Congo crossings

A URA article on a DRC customs benchmark visit names these pairs: Goli and Mahagi, Mpondwe and Kasindi, Padeah and Karombo, Lia and Ombayi, and Vurra and Aru ⁶. The DRC delegation from the DGDA was preparing a customs office at Mahagi ⁶.

The URA Mpondwe article says Ntoroko was ready and waiting for commissioning, and Goli and Suam River were under construction ⁴. An earlier Ministry of Works and Transport presentation said designs for Goli, Ntoroko, Mpondwe and Bunagana were complete and civil works were out to tender ⁷. Daily Monitor reported in April 2019 that similar centres had been built at Bunagana and Gole ³. These sources differ on Bunagana and Goli.

Bunagana links Kisoro District to the DRC, and Cyanika links it to Rwanda, per URA ⁸.

Audit ratings

The Auditor General's 2023 special audit, as reported on 28 June 2024, rated Mpondwe OSBP, Lia and Vurra as consistently efficient. It rated Elegu OSBP and Bunagana as consistently inefficient ⁹.

Ebola notice for 2026

On 17 May 2026 the WHO Director-General declared the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the DR Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern ¹⁰. As of 16 May 2026, Uganda had two confirmed cases in Kampala, both in people who had travelled from the DRC ¹⁰.

WHO advised that no country should close its borders or restrict travel and trade. It asked affected countries to screen all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings for unexplained fever ¹⁰.