Uganda to reopen embassy

Ugandan Foreign Minister and deputy premier Eriya Kategaya has said plans are underway to reopen his country’s embassy in Kinshasa, closed after the war broke out in 1998, Ugandan radio reported. He told a press conference in Kampala after his return from a ground-breaking one-day visit to Kinshasa on Tuesday that he had met DRC President Joseph Kabila and that Uganda was satisfied with the way the Congolese leader was handling various issues. According to the semi-official ‘New Vision’ on Thursday, the Ugandan embassy is currently occupied by the son of former president Idi Amin, Taban, who has been living in the Congo since his father’s overthrow in 1979. A senior foreign ministry official confirmed the reports, the ‘New Vision’ said. “High level contacts have been made between government authorities in Kampala and Kinshasa over the issue,” the official was quoted as saying. “It appears Taban occupied the embassy and the residence when the late President Laurent Kabila was still in power. This was after our diplomatic staff in Kinshasa returned home due to the misunderstandings between the two countries.”