Skip to content
Welcome, thoughtbot's Giant Robots listeners!Start here
Mpondwe
AI-generated illustration
Nation / PlaceUG

Mpondwe

Uganda-DR Congo border crossing and trading town.

Mpondwe's cross-border trade hangs on neighbours lifting Ebola travel restrictions, which Ugandan officials demanded after WHO declared Uganda's 20-case Bundibugyo outbreak over on 26 August 2026.

Last refreshed: 4 October 2026

Timeline for Mpondwe

#14 26 Aug

Mentioned in: WHO calls Uganda's Ebola outbreak over

Pandemics and Biosecurity
View full timeline →

Background

Mpondwe is a border town in Kasese District, western Uganda, and the busiest crossing between Uganda and DR Congo by volume of trade. Trade there suffers whenever Uganda carries an active Ebola label.

The area has been an Ebola entry point before. In June 2019 three imported Ebola cases reached a hospital in Kasese District after crossing an undesignated border point near Mpondwe, and all three died, according to a study of Uganda's first confirmed cases of Zaire ebolavirus.

The town has also suffered the violence of the wider border region. In June 2023 militants linked to Islamic State attacked Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe and killed about 40 people.

Key Issues
Border trade

Mpondwe waits for restrictions to lift

Uganda closed its shared border with DR Congo to non-essential travel during the 2026 outbreak, cutting traffic through crossings such as Mpondwe. WHO declared Uganda's outbreak over on 26 August, closing a chain of 20 cases and two deaths that all began with infections carried in from DR Congo. Uganda's own government had called it over on 28 July. Ugandan officials now want neighbouring countries to lift the travel restrictions they imposed.

The risk has not moved away from the crossing. DR Congo's epidemic still produces hundreds of cases a week, and Uganda's long border with Ituri and North Kivu sees trade and refugee movement that never fully stops. Reintroduction through crossings such as Mpondwe stays likely while that epidemic runs.

Common Questions
Where is the Mpondwe border crossing?
Mpondwe is in Kasese District, western Uganda, on the DR Congo border. It is the busiest crossing between the two countries by volume of trade.Source: Wikipedia
Has Ebola crossed into Uganda at Mpondwe before?
Yes. In June 2019 three imported Ebola cases reached a hospital in Kasese District after crossing an undesignated border point near Mpondwe. All three died.Source: PMC8896669
Why does Uganda's Ebola status matter for Mpondwe?
Cross-border trade at crossings such as Mpondwe suffers while Uganda carries an active Ebola label. WHO declared the 2026 outbreak over on 26 August.Source: WHO
Source Material
First laboratory confirmation and sequencing of Zaire ebolavirus in Uganda, June 2019Mpondwe