DR Congo: Uganda has paid $65 million to repair damage in eastern Congo

By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman Uganda has just paid 65 million US dollars to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to repair the damage caused in eastern Congo during the five-year war from 1998 to 2003. This is the first instalment of a total of 325 million that this country owes to the DRC. In February 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) condemned Uganda to pay this amount to the Congo as a result of these damages. This news was delivered during the Council of Ministers on Friday, September 9 by the Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Rose Mutombo, who reported to the Council on the execution of the ruling of the International Court of Justice in the case of Uganda's armed activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the above-mentioned period. In her intervention, the Minister of Justice recalled that under the terms of this judgment, the full amount due to the DRC must be paid by Uganda in five annual payments of 65 million U.S. dollars, the first of which occurred on September 1, 2022. Rose Mutombo, quoted by Patrick Muyaya, the government spokesman during the Council of Ministers meeting of September 9 on national television, also indicated that these funds are held in a transitory account at the Ministry of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, in a local bank. According to him, this account can be activated only after the effective operationalization of the special fund for reparation to victims and illegal activity of Uganda in the DRC or their beneficiaries and the transfer of signatures to its appointed bodies to engage it as a public institution.