Museveni bans road charges on non-tourists using Murchison Park route

President Museveni has ordered Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to waive charges of up to Shs200, 000 imposed on non-tourist travelers transiting through Murchison Falls National Park to connect to and from northern Uganda, following the closure of the main Karuma Bridge route.

“On the use of the park by the people who are travelling to and from northern Uganda during the time of the closure of the Karuma Bridge, I totally forbid the charging of money from travellers who are not tourists.  It’s nonsensical. It’s not correct,” Museveni told the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party’s parliamentary caucus at State House in Entebbe on Friday.

Karuma Bridge was shut to allow its ongoing reconstruction, a development implying that travellers would have to use the road through the national park as an alternative route.

Museveni’s order was at the request of government whip Denis Hamson Obua, who is also the lawmaker of Ajuri County in Alebtong District.

Travellers from Kampala to West Nile and vice versa can now comfortably use the River Kafu to Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach route and connect to their respective destinations.

The route cuts distance for a traveller to West Nile by roughly 80 kilometres, which road users say is fuel saving.

The Ugandan leader emphasized that his directive for a waiver would still be subjected to future considerations upon consultations with tourism sector stakeholders.

Accordingly, Museveni directed his vice Jessica Alupo to convene a meeting between the Ministry of Tourism, conservationists and some legislators to assess the impact of big cars transiting through Murchison Falls National Park on tourism.  

“Apparently, according to conservationists, they are saying that those animals in the park are not used to very many vehicles, especially the big ones,” he said.

“I can suspect that there may be common sense in it. When these animals see these big vehicles they fear and run away,” Museveni added.

 About the Paraa route

Travellers using the Paraa route will still find hurdles such as the speed limit on the newly surfaced oil road inside Murchison Falls National Park.

The speed limit is 40 kilometres per hour- meaning a trip from the entrance to the exit of Murchison Park takes a minimum of two hours, far slower than travelling by the Gulu Highway via Karuma. 

Authorities originally set a 5pm time limit for the Paraa route thus travellers could end up facing costs such as accommodation expenses inside Murchison Falls National Park if caught by time.

The charges 

Vehicle entry fees                        Foreign                                Ugandan registered

                                                        US$                                          Shs

Saloon Cars                                     40                                           20,000

Minibuses, Omnibuses                  50                                           30,000

Pick-ups                                           50                                           30,000

Tour company vehicles &             150                                         30,000

4 Wheel Drive  

Over Landers                                   150                                         100,000

Buses & Lorries                              200                                        200,000

Delivery vehicle per entry                                                            20,000