From plundering wood during the Great African War of the late 1990s to the outright timber smuggling that flourishes today, Uganda’s porous 950km border with the Democratic Republic of Congo is the site of transactions that involve logging the Congo Basin Forest, often referred to as the “Lungs of Africa”. This investigation reveals the illegal, yet lucrative logging supply chain that transcends borders.

Mpondwe border, located in midwestern Uganda for years, was the main entry route for Congolese timber destined to Uganda as well as that in transit to other countries.

An official timber park, located on a DRC road on the way to the border point, is where trucks loaded with wood would present documents indicating their cargo had been legally logged. Traders used to use the route before the park was established. But since the park opened, there were more opportunities for officials to question truckers, so they started moving northwards instead.

Timber traders moved some 600km north to Lia, a small town in northern Uganda, a less developed official border point.

Our investigation reveals that Lia has become the main point for Congolese timber entering Uganda. Timber undergoes no scrutiny and is cleared with questionable documents – or none- to enter Uganda for the local market or to transit to other countries, such as Kenya.

Evidence of satellite images show that though there was no timber at Lia in 2020, by the end of 2022, piles of sawed wood, organised in bundles, extended to a distance of about 300 metres. New areas were being cleared quickly to create more space–indicative of the increased volumes of raw materials–where timber could be temporarily stored.

Beyond official border points where timber is cleared using questionable documents, there are many unofficial entry points such as Paidha, located about 15km from where traders in DRC and those in Uganda coordinate and move timber over the border illegally, mostly at night. This timber also ends up on the market in Kampala.

En route to Kampala or transiting to other countries, timber trucks pass through several check points on the road, including one at River Nile Bridge in Packwach.

The Packwach checkpoint is manned by many government law enforcement agencies, including the National Forestry Authority, which are supposed to ensure that only legal products pass. But according to those interviewed, timber from Congo without documents - fake or otherwise - passes through the checkpoint.

Much of the timber from DRC ends up at large furniture manufacturers’ warehouses in Kampala.

Timber is also directed to large timber markets like Ndeeba, situated in the capital city. It's from these markets that the much-loved Congolese timber is sold to small-scale and medium-scale furniture manufacturers.

Uganda is the main transit point for Congolese timber destined for Kenya. Timber passes through the Malaba border, which is the main frontier between Kenya and Uganda.

At the Malaba border, trucks arrive overloaded, heavier than the 26 legally acceptable tonnes. Once they are cleared, they enter Kenya and first stop at a private weighbridge situated two kilometres from the border. This is where they unload excess timber and proceed to their final destination with only the allowable weight.