Uganda parks safe

Jun 16, 2004

THERE WAS a brief scare in the press earlier this week that Interahamwe rebels might be in the Bwindi and Mgahinga parks that are popular with international tourists. As it turned out, the reality was that about 15 RCD Goma soldiers had crossed the border at Bunagana in Kisoro. They started looting

THERE WAS a brief scare in the press earlier this week that Interahamwe rebels might be in the Bwindi and Mgahinga parks that are popular with international tourists. As it turned out, the reality was that about 15 RCD Goma soldiers had crossed the border at Bunagana in Kisoro. They started looting food and supplies.

Villagers alerted the army who chased them back across the border after a short firefight. They were miles from any park. This minor incident was what sparked off the exaggerated Interahamwe rumours.

Tourist visits to Uganda have been steadily growing over the last few years and there is an opportunity for further exponential growth if the East African Community allows a single tourist visa for entry.

The parks in southwestern Uganda are close to the Congo border but this does not mean that they are unsafe for visitors.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority did well to immediately clear up the confusion but more needs to be done by the Uganda Tourism Board to publicise the accessibility and security of the parks.

But Ugandans themselves should also work hard to undermine the culture of rumour mongering.

Uganda is a country full of often-contradictory rumours. Too often we are happy to believe the first rumour that comes along.
The opposite should be the case.

We should be sceptical of all rumours until we see overwhelming evidence that they are actually factual reports.

Otherwise we will waste our time reacting to false scare stories that also discourage visitors and investors from coming to Uganda, a country that is far safer in most places than its
neighbours.

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