Dr. Love''s travels: Kidepo@50

Aug 08, 2013

The first thing I did was to look it up properly. Kidepo is the North eastern Karamoja side of Uganda, at the boundary confluence of Uganda South Sudan and Kenya. The district is Kaabong which means something very interesting only that I also don’t know.

By Hilary Bainemigisha
trueWhen I was asked to attend the 50th anniversary of Kidepo Valley National Park, I did not really care which anniversary it would be. But later when I cared, I found 50 laudable.  At least, we now have something older than The Movement. 

And the location of Kidepo had never left any doubt in me that my foot will never step on the Kaabong district where it is located.

That side of Uganda had been as far away to me as State House is to Besigye. We all know where it is and the route there but we still haven’t gone.

The first thing I did was to look it up properly. Kidepo is the North eastern Karamoja side of Uganda, at the boundary confluence of Uganda South Sudan and Kenya. The district is Kaabong which means something very interesting only that I also don’t know.

The park, which was gazzetted in 1962 by former president Apollo Milton Obote, has 77 mammals, 475 bird species and Akello Rose Lilly as the MP.

It was also described by CNN Travel as the third most important park in Africa and second to none in Uganda – even when you generously include – borrowing from the prime minister’s view -  the rowdy MPs of this week. It is this place that the Uganda Tourism for Biodiversity Program invited me to go and be your eye.

Unfortunately, its location is too far and doesn’t allow it many visitors. Like a beautiful nun in the convent , she is hardly taken advantage of. We set off on Wednesday but unfortunately, we ran out of the day along the way and had to sleep in Kitgum. I remained on cloud nine because I became the first person in my nuclear family to step in Gulu.

Now I am in Kitgum being watched over by Imotong hills where the notorious LRA commander, Otim Okelo was put out of action. It has been a long journey along a road I cant describe as smooth. I haven’t toured Kitgum yet.

Im waiting for super to end. But I managed to catch a glimpse of a Uganda Revenue Authority Office, meaning that the people have money. I also saw a fat policeman meaning that crime is high. Otherwise how did he get the ample size without a salary.
 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});