By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Ugandans on social media especially X formerly Twitter have roasted Uganda Wildlife Authority(UWA) for being insensitive and having no compassion for the grieving families of the tourists and a guide who were gruesomely killed in Queen Elizabeth National Park located in Kasese district.
Unknown armed assailants on Tuesday last week attacked a tourist vehicle Queen Elizabeth National Park killing a South African and British tourists who were in Queen Elizabeth National Park for their honeymoon.
According to President Museveni and UPDF spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye confirmed that Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were behind the killing and further described the incident as being unfortunate and infuriating.
Both President Museveni and UPDF leadership further assured Ugandans and international tourists that the security agencies including UPDF, Police, Uganda Wildlife Authority are on the matter to ensure the assailants are brought to book but to also ensure “these mistakes do not happen again and that ADF is wiped out.”
However to a section of Ugandans, UWA has not done enough to show concern and compassion for the families which lost their loved ones in the sad incident and in this regard, a one Daniel Kawuma has expressed his dissatisfaction noting that UWA should be mourning the victims and demanding justice and not just doing a public relations campaign to sweep the horrific incident under the rug.
Kawama’s comments come after a UWA made a post portraying that tourists were enjoying a game viewing at Kasenyi in Queen Elizabeth National Park just few days after incident which according to him is pure RP campaign and a shame to Uganda
It is also worth remembering that a few days after the incident, senior presidential advisor on media Joseph Tamale Mirundi and Internal Affairs Minister Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire tasked the government to investigate UWA bosses before jumping to conclusions that it was the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) behind the killings.
Gen. Otafiire said that it is not right to conclude that ADF killed the tourists before investigation are done to establish the real killers behind the heinous noting that among the suspects under investigation are UWA bosses.
Furthermore, Tamale Mirundi noted that the first persons to benefit from the murder of the tourists are UWA bosses because the attack happened amidst ongoing fights at the Authority.
According to Mirundi, the main objective of the murder was to divert the ongoing investigations into the multibillion scandal where UWA bosses have been issuing fake gorilla permits and pocketing the funds.
Mirundi further added that the people who murdered the tourists wanted to send a clear message to their enemies in the authority who are insisting on investigating them that they have the capacity and power to put Uganda’s tourism sector down if they don’t back off and stop the investigations.
But here is Kawuma’s open letter to UWA.
”Dear Uganda Wild Life Authority, We, as a nation, should be mourning the victims and demanding justice, not witnessing a calculated PR campaign to sweep this horrific incident under the rug.
The callousness and lack of humanity displayed by those responsible for orchestrating this insensitive campaign is a shame for our country.
Instead of waiting a few days to allow the nation to grieve and process the magnitude of this tragedy, you have chosen to exploit it for your own benefit. This is a blatant attempt to drown out the voices of those mourning and to shift the narrative away from the urgent need for a thorough investigation into the killing of innocent tourists at Queen Elizabeth National Park.
It is deeply troubling how you use the scene of such a gruesome killing and post messages of an “exciting morning” for tourists. It is incomprehensible how you could mock the victims and their grieving families by circulating happy photos of Queen Elizabeth before the bodies have even been laid to rest.
This level of insensitivity is an affront to the values of compassion and respect that should be upheld by any responsible authority. The Museveni regime, which claims to represent the interests of our nation, should be focusing on providing support to the affected families and taking immediate action to ensure the safety and security of our national parks.
Instead, you are shamelessly engaging in a PR campaign to divert attention from the tears and blood of the dead. This moment demands action, not empty gestures. We call on the government to release an official report detailing the measures being taken to address the atrocities committed at Queen Elizabeth National Park. The lives lost deserve justice, and the safety of our tourists should be paramount.
It is imperative that we secure our national parks and restore confidence in our ability to protect both our natural heritage and those who visit our country. Uganda deserves better than this. We deserve leaders who prioritize the well-being of our citizens and the preservation of our wildlife. We stand in solidarity with the victims’ families and demand accountability for those responsible for this tragedy.
Dr. Daniel Kawuma, NUP Diaspora Team Leader”
