DR Congo claims Rwenzori peak
Aug 27, 2007
AT first it was Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert which the Congolese claimed to be theirs, now it is Margherita peak on the Rwenzori Mountains. A Congolese official has said it was wrong for Uganda to keep claiming that Margherita peak was in Uganda and getting revenue from tourists.
By Colombus Tusiime
and Felix Osike
AT first it was Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert which the Congolese claimed to be theirs, now it is Margherita peak on the Rwenzori Mountains.
Presenting a report at the Rwenzori region stakeholders meeting, organised by the Uganda Wildlife Authority at Margherita Hotel in Kasese recently, the acting warden in charge of Virunga National Park in Eastern DR Congo, Gudja Bin Masumbuko, said it was wrong for Uganda to keep claiming that Margherita peak was in Uganda and getting revenue from tourists.
Masumbuko said the Congolese authorities sent a team of park rangers and officials from the UN peace keeping mission in Congo (MONUC) to the peak between January 30 and February 12. They said it was on the Congolese side.
They raised the issue with the authorities of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park and were waiting for a response, he added.
The Rwenzoris, also known as the Mountains of the Moon, lie on the border between Uganda and the DR Congo, slightly north of the Equator. The range is about 100km long and 50km wide. The scenic often mist-shrouded mountains are non-volcanic and are enclosed within the Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
It is the largest snow-covered mountains in Africa, composed of six separate mountains, each of which has permanent snow and glaciers. The highest point is the Margherita peak on Mount Stanley. At 5,109m, it is the third highest summit in Africa.
The Kasese resident district commissioner, Wilson Isingoma, on Sunday said they agreed with Congo that there would be more consultations on the matter.
“The issue was raised in one of our security meetings in May. We agreed that it be handled by a joint investigation team. These things can be verified using global positioning systems,†he explained.
He said the Congolese reacted when a plaque was planted on the Margherita peak by Italian tourists and Ugandan officials who visited the area last year to celebrate 100 years since an Italian prince conquered the mountain.
The prince Luigi Amedeo da Savoia, Duke of Abruzzi, led a major exploration in 1906 which produced the first detailed map of the area. The expedition named the main peaks of Mt. Stanely as Margherita (5,109m) and Alexandra, (5,044m) after members of the Italian and British royal families.
The senior warden of Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Nelson Guma, said it was not the first time the issue of Margherita peak came up. “We have discussed this issue several times. We even had security meetings about it. We have left it to higher authorities to handle,†he said.
However, the chief warden of the park, Tom Okello, said the coordinates showed that Margherita was at the border.
“According to the boundary description of Rwenzori, the border passes on Margherita peak. It is not true that it is in Congo.â€
and Felix Osike
AT first it was Rukwanzi Island on Lake Albert which the Congolese claimed to be theirs, now it is Margherita peak on the Rwenzori Mountains.
Presenting a report at the Rwenzori region stakeholders meeting, organised by the Uganda Wildlife Authority at Margherita Hotel in Kasese recently, the acting warden in charge of Virunga National Park in Eastern DR Congo, Gudja Bin Masumbuko, said it was wrong for Uganda to keep claiming that Margherita peak was in Uganda and getting revenue from tourists.
Masumbuko said the Congolese authorities sent a team of park rangers and officials from the UN peace keeping mission in Congo (MONUC) to the peak between January 30 and February 12. They said it was on the Congolese side.
They raised the issue with the authorities of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park and were waiting for a response, he added.
The Rwenzoris, also known as the Mountains of the Moon, lie on the border between Uganda and the DR Congo, slightly north of the Equator. The range is about 100km long and 50km wide. The scenic often mist-shrouded mountains are non-volcanic and are enclosed within the Rwenzori Mountains National Park.
It is the largest snow-covered mountains in Africa, composed of six separate mountains, each of which has permanent snow and glaciers. The highest point is the Margherita peak on Mount Stanley. At 5,109m, it is the third highest summit in Africa.
The Kasese resident district commissioner, Wilson Isingoma, on Sunday said they agreed with Congo that there would be more consultations on the matter.
“The issue was raised in one of our security meetings in May. We agreed that it be handled by a joint investigation team. These things can be verified using global positioning systems,†he explained.
He said the Congolese reacted when a plaque was planted on the Margherita peak by Italian tourists and Ugandan officials who visited the area last year to celebrate 100 years since an Italian prince conquered the mountain.
The prince Luigi Amedeo da Savoia, Duke of Abruzzi, led a major exploration in 1906 which produced the first detailed map of the area. The expedition named the main peaks of Mt. Stanely as Margherita (5,109m) and Alexandra, (5,044m) after members of the Italian and British royal families.
The senior warden of Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Nelson Guma, said it was not the first time the issue of Margherita peak came up. “We have discussed this issue several times. We even had security meetings about it. We have left it to higher authorities to handle,†he said.
However, the chief warden of the park, Tom Okello, said the coordinates showed that Margherita was at the border.
“According to the boundary description of Rwenzori, the border passes on Margherita peak. It is not true that it is in Congo.â€