VZCZCXRO5724
PP RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0019/01 0070411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070411Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9837
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

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