UWA assures tourists on safety in Queen Elizabeth park

The executive director of the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA), Mr Sam Mwandha, has assured local and international tourists that Queen Elizabeth National Park is safe for visitors.

 “Right now, the park remains open, we have deployed appropriately in all locations and it is safe and secure for you to come and visit. We will continue with the deployment and discussions to ensure we adjust our activities   appropriately and ensure our visitors are secure and enjoy Uganda,” he said

The assurance comes after an October 17 attack in the park that left two tourists and their driver by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.

Mr Mwandha said a joint security agencies team is ensuring security in the park.

“We have held several meetings here with various security agencies that are in the region, including the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police, Resident District Commissioner for Kasese, and UWA staff and we have developed a programme that will ensure all our guests are safe,’’ he said.

In an earlier statement, President Museveni who blamed security lapses for the attack, also assured Ugandans that the suspected perpetrators –the ADF rebels- would be defeated.

“More importantly, the UPDF, the Police, the UWA, and Intelligences should ensure these mistakes do not happen again and that ADF is wiped out. The wiping out is moving very well. What needs to be done is to ensure that the remnants do not commit these atrocities,” Museveni said in a statement.

He added: “The terrorists will be defeated”.

 Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of Uganda’s most prized tourist’s attractions with 95 mammal species and more than 600 bird species, winding savannah grasslands, lakes among other attractions.

The park was founded in 1952 as Kazinga National Park and renamed two years later to commemorate a visit by Queen Elizabeth II of England.

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