From the pulpit to the plunder

An elephant injured by a snare that was set up by poachers in Queen Elizabeth National Park

On a typical Sunday, when the church is full to the brim, Ben Baguma steps up to the pulpit to implore people to abandon their sinful ways. He is the reverend of Rwebisengo Parish in Ntoroko district. When I caught up with him recently, it was not in the environs of Rwebisengo.

He was in detention at Kira Road Police Station in Kampala over charges of poaching elephants. Baguma’s other life came to light when wildlife officials, together with the army, bust a racket behind the armed killing of elephants in Kibale National Park. It was an unpleasant scene.

The reverend was barefooted. Because of his position in society, he always avoided eye contact. He was ashamed of the charges placed against him. Rangers, who were excited about what they called a big catch, kept urging him to face the camera. He did not oblige and they forcefully pushed his head to look up.

It was a ‘feast’ for the pressmen and onlookers. “He has been poaching for long, but his luck ran out when we used spies as buyers of ivory,” said Moses Olinga, a Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) law enforcement officer, who coordinated the operation. “We have a network of informers and Baguma’s name kept coming up as the chief financier of ivory trade in most of the intelligence reports,” he added

 What does Uganda Wildlife Authority say?

Charles Tumwesigye, the director of conservation at UWA, confirmed that poaching was still a problem. However, he said the animal numbers for most species were either stable or going up. Tumwesigye said some huge herds of animals were no longer visible because the distribution had changed.

He attributed this to ecological changes, which he said were negatively affecting pastures. As a result, he said, most animals were moving towards Lake George and areas near Kasese in Queen Elizabeth National Park. “We have conducted an animal census and the conclusion is that the animal population is increasing. But the tourism routes will have to be changed in Queen Elizabeth to enable visitors to see the animals easily,” he said.

Reasons for unabated poaching

UWA has been raising awareness by calling for creation of alternative livelihoods for people living near the parks. But the approach has failed to tame poaching. In addition, community conservation strategies are thought to contribute to changing attitudes and mobilising support, according to sources. But UWA is underfunded and community conservation is not working to reduce poaching, according to sources. “Also, people around the parks are poor and, therefore, depend on bush meat for food and income.”

“In the absence of effective poverty reduction programmes in such areas as national parks, poaching is unstoppable. What are the acceptable alternatives to the poacher?” the source asks.Queen Elizabeth National Park. Its tusks had been extracted from the carcass, meaning UWA officials are still running in the shadows of the poachers at the park.

At Kibale, elephants are being killed using automatic rifles (AK47) or trapped in pits, where sharp sticks are planted and covered with leaves. When the elephants fall into the trap, the poachers cut off the tusks and leave the carcass behind. In northern Uganda, poaching is still a problem in Murchison Falls National Park, but Olinga says the rate has reduced, compared to what it was two years ago.

Uganda among the gang of eight A dark cloud still hangs over Uganda tours, which was accused at the most recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), of providing a safe haven for poachers from neighbouring countries. The poachers also use Uganda as a trafficking route. Sources also fear that the poachers could turn their guns to Uganda’s elephants. CITES cited Kenya and Tanzania among what they called the ‘gang of eight’, in reference to countries which are doing little to curb the illegal trade in ivory.

Others are Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and destination countries, Thailand and China. The countries were ordered by CITES to provide a programme of action to minimise the trade in ivory in the next 12 months or face sanctions. “There was a high level meeting on elephant poaching when the Thailand prime minister visited Uganda recently,” says Mutagamba. Other measures, according to Mutagamba include setting up an intelligence unit, recruiting 430 rangers and placing gadgets that can detect ivory at Entebbe Airport.

Sources say Kenya has put in place punitive laws, from which Uganda can copy. Poachers from West Africa and countries in Asia were operating rackets in Uganda because of the weak wildlife laws, according to sources. Illegal ivory traced back to Uganda About 1.3 tonnes of elephant ivory were recovered in Mombasa, Kenya, hidden under fish for export.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the Malaysia-bound ivory was from Uganda. KWS revealed that the ivory was stashed in bundles and sacks and hidden in the fish maws within the container and was ferried from Malaba (at the Kenya-Uganda border) to Mombasa. Its value was estimated at $342,000. Asan Kasingye, the Interpol director told Saturday Vision that they were working with UWA and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to establish the origin of the ivory. Last year, tusks belonging to 200 elephants were impounded at Entebbe Airport, according to Kasingye.

This happened just after a massacre of elephants in Garamba National Park, in the DR Congo, by heavily armed poachers, assisted by a helicopter. animals hard to see in Queen Elizabeth In areas around Queen Elizabeth National Park, poaching is worse than is reported, according to sources.

“When you take a game drive through the park, you will keep wondering where the animals have gone.” A tourist who was giving feedback to one of the tour operators after a game drive in Queen Elizabeth complained that the animals were becoming too elusive. Tour operators say Murchison turns into butcher ground In Murchison Falls, the problems have been compounded by the current exploration of oil.

Also key is the fact that bush meat is part of the culture of the people in northern Uganda. While park authorities in Murchison say poaching has scaled down compared to the rate two years ago, tour operators say every time they are on a game drive, they encounter abandoned carcasses or poachers on a hunting spree.

“When you report to UWA, they intimidate you,” a source told Saturday Vision on condition of anonymity. “It is unfair for tourists to spend their money and get almost nothing out of it. After encounters with poachers spearing animals, what will tourists tell others who are planning to come?”

Fort Patiko: A beauty born out of slave trade

It was the 1800s. The Arabs, in their search for trading venues stumbled upon Ocecu Hill in present-day Gulu District.

Patiko is a beauty – mountains and hills grace her extensive vegetation. And she advantageously sits near Nimule, South Sudan and on wards to eastern Egypt, where the Arabs sold their merchandise.

The Arabs could not have found a better slave harbor and trade link. They descended upon Ocecu Hill and built three square-shaped huts to serve as stores for ammunition, ivory and foodstuff as well as hides and skins.

Slaves were a key trading item for the Arabs too and were captured from northern Uganda, Gondokoro in Sudan and other areas. Ocecu Hill became a sorting ground for slaves. Healthy-looking ones were forced to trek from Patiko, through Sudan across the Red Sea and sold in Egypt.

The journey to the slave markets was not easy. “The slaves were forced to carry looted millet, simsim, ammunition and ivory,” explains Constance Oneka who was in 2011 the caretaker of the site. Slaves who were too weak as a result of beatings and long treks were killed by firing squad or beheaded in the designated ‘execution slab/prosecution chamber’ on the hill. Barter trade was the major form of exchange. Traditional chiefs in Patiko supplied ivory to the Arabs in exchange for sukas, beads, guns and gun powder.

The Arabs turned Ocecu Hill into a trading centre and business boomed. However, when village raids intensified, fear, hunger and disease befell Patiko. Something had to be done. The then chief of Patiko – Rwot Kikwiyakare – organised the relocation of children, elders and the sick to a nearby mountain so that his people are not wiped away by slave trade.

Baker and the birth of Fort Patiko

That mountain, located about 2kms from Ocecu Hill, became known as Got Ajulu (Julu is Acholi for ‘nurture’, Got means mountain/hill). According to the Chief of Patiko, Rwot Jeremiah Muttu Bonojane, Rwot Kikwiyakare said to his people: “Let’s nurture (julu) our people so that our clan is not wiped away.” As a result, the mountain has since then been called Got Ajulu.

As Britain spread its colonial wings across Africa, quashing slave trade was one of their missions. Explorer Sir Samuel Baker was commissioned by the Queen of England to oversee that mission. Although Britain would colonise Uganda in 1894, by 1863, Sir Samuel Baker and the chief of Patiko - Rwot Kikwiyakare met and discussed the slave trade menace in the area.

In 1872, Baker returned from Egypt with Nubian soldiers, passed through Bunyoro to quash the Kabalega resistance against the British and headed to Patiko. He over-run the slave harbor, expelled about 250 Arabs and fortified the place. Fort Patiko, also known as Baker’s Fort Patiko, was born.

Located about 32 kilometers north of Gulu Town, the fort is enclosed by a 16 feet wide and 15 feet deep trench dug by slaves on the orders of the Arabs to avoid the escape of captives. The tourism site, located in Patiko Sub-county in Gulu District covers about 9.4 hectares.

It is neighbored by six hills - Ajulu, Ladwong, Akara, Abaka and Labworomor to the north and Kiju hill to the south.

In 2011 when I first visited the Fort, an oval-shaped, roofless hut with half of its wall crumbled down, stood at the entrance with two doors on either side. Small rocks pieced together with mud and cement, formed the wall of the hut which served as a gate.

Two years later, the hut is no more. Inside Fort Patiko lies well-trimmed grass, with a rectangular-shaped structure sitting on the left of the vast compound.

This small house used to be a reception and a registration room. But the roofless structure is now a haven to grass, insects and animal waste, despite its well-trimmed surroundings. On the right side of the compound sits an oval-shaped structure, built only almost two feet up. “It used to be the visitors’ waiting room,” says John Too, who says he was the Fort caretaker from 1976 to early 2000.

Beyond the lush compound dotted with small, scattered, protruding rocks, sit three square-shaped and roofless huts that were used by Arabs to store their loot. Two years ago, one of the store walls had an inscription “Patiko, 1872-88, founded by Sir Samuel Baker, occupied by Gordon and Emin”.

Mr. Too says the name Patiko was misspelled by Baker, while writing the inscription. The metallic plate that bore the inscription is no more and according to Rwot Muttu, it was recently stolen. Next to the three huts stand a giant rock, about 150 high and is known as Baker’s leap/seat. It was on top of this rock, that the Arabs would sit to monitor any infiltration by their enemies to the area. Behind the three square-shaped huts is the execution slab and further left of the slab is a cave where slaves –destined for execution were ‘imprisoned’.

The ‘execution slab’ is dotted with dents which Mr. Too says were caused by axes used to behead slaves. Dark spots, believed to be blood stains of slaves, can also be seen on the rock. Fort Patiko might have witnessed terror from Arab slave trade dealers, but the natural beauty of the place, rose above its dark history.

Management, maintenance woes cloud Fort Patiko

Fort Patiko could have risen above its dark history, but what remains to be seen, is what the government, which gazettes the Fort as a government object in 1972, will do to milk its potential for area residents and the country.

Area residents think fencing off the area and placing its management with them, will ensure the protection and preservation of the Fort.

The chief of Patiko, Rwot Jeremiah Muttu Bonojane, who accuses the government of taking away management of the place from his people, says the area where Fort Patiko sits, was given to the Arabs by Rwot Kikwiyakare, his great grandfather. “I don’t know why I should be wrangling with government over this place. Government said they can’t give it to me because they have a plan for it,” he explains.

He adds: “But I told them the people of Patiko want to manage the place in partnership with development partners.”

Fort Patiko, according to Rwot Muttu is currently managed by the Sub-county but he thinks a lot needs to be made better.

“There are no urinals, no toilets in the place. If I have life, I’ll change that place for the better in just five years,” he says, adding that Fort Patiko has been moving from the ministry of Tourism, Trade and now they understand it’s under Heritage and iniquities.

In a letter dated October 13, 2009, the Department of Museums and Monuments in the Ministry of Tourism and Industry, expressed concern over the decline in maintenance of Fort Patiko. “There are signs of degradation of the walls of key historic monumental structures (the granary, ivory and ammunition stores). The compound is bushy and the trench system is rundown and invisible,” the letter, addressed to the Gulu Chief Administrative Officer, reads in part.

The business community in Gulu has in the past requested the Ministry to be allowed to manage the fort. However, the ministry said after basic conservation work is complete, there could be a private-public partnership. “The immediate need of the site is opening the borders to establish the boundaries of the site, clearance of vegetation and grass cutting in the defensive ditch surrounding the camp…” the 2009 letter reads further.

“Removal of all anthills within the periphery, reconstruction of an attendant’s office, construction of a pit latrine and erection of enamel signposts in Gulu and on the main route to Patiko,” the letter, signed by Mwanje Nkaale Rose Ag Commissioner, Museums and Monuments, adds.

Even as the management hiccups for Fort Patiko get sorted out, local and foreign visitors have continued to troop the area to revel in its beauty and history.

Uganda at (nearly) 51 celebrates the UNWTO World Tourism Day in style

Today will see the formal launch of the UN World Tourism Organization’s World Tourism Day in Uganda in the town of Fort Portal, located in the heart of a triangle of national parks at the foothills of the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Rwenzori Mountains, aka Mountains of the Moon. Within easy reach from Fort Portal are such natural wonders like the Semliki National Park, the Semliki Toro Game Reserve, the Kibale Forest National Park and only a little further off the Queen Elizabeth National Park, making the seat of the Toro Kingdom an ideal base to explore the West of Uganda.

Uganda at (nearly) 51 celebrates the UNWTO World Tourism Day in style It has been a tradition in Uganda to celebrate the World Tourism Day in different locations, every alternate year moving out of the capital Kampala and showcasing the Pearl of Africa’s tourism attractions to the locals and foreign visitors alike.

With the main celebration this year out of the city have tourism gurus nevertheless made sure that Kampalans get their fill too, as today will also see the launch of the Annual Tourism Expo in the extensive gardens of the Sheraton, with the main base at the hotel’s Lion Centre. The public will have three days to see what will await them as they try their hand in Tembea Uganda or exploring Uganda as the Kiswahili version translates to.

Also this weekend will the Kampala Serena Hotel host the Uganda Night on Saturday 28th, all part of this year’s World Tourism Day celebrations though in a wider sense also dedicated to Uganda’s upcoming 51st Independence Day celebrations. If you wish to discover more about Uganda, the Pearl of Africa where arguably the widest range of tourism attractions and service providers are featured.

Birding Paradise in Uganda.

Kizinga Channel Boat Cruise

In 1954 the Government of Uganda gifted 1978km of land to the world, a nature preserve to be used as a living laboratory for scientific research, eco-tourism and tropical forest management. The Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The Park stretches from the crater-dotted foothills of the Rwenzori range in the North, along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote Ishasha River in the South, incorporating a wide variety of habitats that range from Savannah and wetlands to gallery and lowland forest.

This remarkable diversity is reflected in its bird list of over 605 species, the largest of any protected area in Africa.

Birding

The main camp at Mweya is attractively positioned at a peninsula separating the Kazinga Channel from Lake Edward, with fine views of Rwenzori Mountains and spectacular sunsets over the lake.

White-shouldered Cliff Chat which is increasingly becoming a rare sight in Uganda is also resident here.

Other species include: Shoebill, Martial Eagle, Black-rumped Buttonquail, African Skimmer, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Black Bee-eater, White-tailed Lark, White-winged Warbler, and Papyrus Canary.

Here birders get a decent chance of seeing males competing for female attention and while watching this rare scenario, you will simultaneously watch birds build their nests (which is often done in groups). This combination is a rare experience indeed.

In the vicinity of the airstrip and the camping site along the Kazinga Channel, you will see the resident African Mourning Dove, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher (often far from water), Grey-capped Warbler, the beautiful Black-headed Gonolek, Red-chested Sunbird Slender-billed, Yellow-backed Nightjars are fairly common along the airstrip and may be flushed from their roosts under thickets.

The Raptors

These are well represented by Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, African Harrier-Hawk, Martial Eagle and Grey Kestel are all frequently seen. Lion day, Temminck’s Courser, Collared Pratincole and Red-capped Lark, prefer short grass towards the southern end of the airstrip, which is also a good vantage point from which to observe over flying raptors, large water birds such as pelicans, storks, and swifts and swallows.

At sunset thousands of swifts perform an acrobatic display of feeding before disappearing into the horizon a scene often captured by professional photographers on visit.

Kazinga Channel

The Kazinga Channel is a natural magnet for water birds in the vicinity of Mweya and acts as a migrant trap for birds moving along the Albertine Rift.

A launch departs twice daily providing an excellent way to see a wide variety of water-related species on the channel.

As you start the cruise, you are able to see water birds  such as: Great White and Pick-backed pelicans, Great and Long-tailed Carmorants, common Squacco Heron, African Open-billed Stork, White-faced whistling and knob-billed Ducks and  African Fish Eagle among others.

Additionally, a scenic crater area found north of Katwe road is a good place to search for widespread grass land species such as common Buttonquail, Croaking Cisticola, Broad-tailed Warbler and marsh Tcharaga.

Papyrus swamps

She says that the papyrus swamps provide nesting sites for Shoebill and they may be seen soaring overhead or feeding at the edge of the marsh in the early morning or late afternoon.

The Cultural twist

The Bakonzo, some of the indigenous people around Queen Elizabeth, first settled here many hundred years ago. And although western influences are evident, they haven’t overshadowed the traditional Bakonzo customs and folklore.

By building eco-lodges in their villages and guiding birding tours, many Bakonzo communities have found new ways of benefiting from their natural gifts. Bakonzo guides are incredibly in tune with nature. 

While guiding you through the forests you will be amazed at the way their innate sense of direction will lead you through the sometimes thick unmapped areas. And their stories and legends will keep you entertained along the way. 

Accommodation

Mweya Safari Lodge overlooks the Peninsular. However, having your breakfast at the balcony is good enough to expose the abundant birdlife found in Queen Elizabeth national Park.

The National Park Campsite overlooks the Kazinga Channel, has showers and pit latrines. Jacan safari Lodge under the Geo Lodges Chain in Uganda is within the Maramagambo Forest. Wilderness Tented Camp in Ishasha area. Bandas managed by Uganda Wild Life Authority.

William Byaruhanga, chairman Tourism Uganda, says: ‘Amongst the ornithologists, Uganda has long been the best kept secret in terms of its plethora of bird species with over 1,040 species on record’.

‘This ranks Uganda as one of the top global destinations for bird watchers and combined with Uganda’s other unique attributes, make it a definite must visit destination’. He concludes.

Meanwhile, the Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) recently launched eight new birding trails in Murchison Falls National Park effectively making birding a specialized tourism product.

Uganda’s bird species count per square kilometer is the highest in Africa and it accounts for 50% of the continental total.

While addressing birders and journalists participating in the annual birding day in Murchison Falls Park recently, UWA product development executive Patrick Tushabe said: ‘ We are packaging birding as a new tourism package as one way of diversifying our revenue-generating activities’’

Uganda and its People.

Traditional  markets in karamonja Area near Kidepo Valley National Park.

MISS TOURISM UGANDA 2013 TO REPRESENT UGANDA IN MALAYSIA

 Miss Tourism Uganda Pageant is back on the Uganda Tourism calendar 20 years after it was last held. As part of the activities to celebrate this year’s World Tourism Day which falls on 27th September, the Tourism fraternity led by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MTWA) has launched a Miss Tourism Uganda 2013 pageant, a website, logo and a theme song.

During the occasion to launch the pageants at Tamaria Hotel in Kampala on July 30,the minister Dr. Maria Mutagamba called on stake holders to “Journey with us and be part of the transformation of Uganda through Tourism Uganda Pageant 2013 which will support tourism growth and improved livelihoods”

The aim of the pageant is “Promoting Uganda’s tourism by showcasing Uganda’s beauties as the Pearls of Africa”

Dr. Mutagamba says the pageants will promote Uganda tourism domestically and internationally, showcase Uganda’s diverse and rich tourism offering (flora, fauna, culture, history, food etc) and increase public-Private sector participation/funding in tourism.

The contest will be open to all single Ugandan women in all regions of the country aged 18-29 with a minimum A’ level education and with a height of 5 feet six inches.

The chairperson of the Tourism and trade in parliament Mrs Flavia Kabahenda Rwabuhoro  said during the launch that she was happy that a Ugandan woman will be used to market the face of Uganda. She pledged that the Parliament of Uganda will not only join the journey but lead it in rediscovering the country’s natural endowments. She challenged her colleagues in parliament to support tourism as a vehicle for social transformation through public awareness and engagement

She was also happy that the pageant will now be an annual event and that the winner will represent Uganda in the Miss World Tourism event in Malaysia this year. The climax will be in Fort Portal during the World Tourism Day celebrations

Golden Monkey Experiential Tourism

Monkey tracking has come fast on the heels of the more sought-after Mountain Gorilla Tracking. With a new adventure dubbed ‘Golden Monkey Experiential Tourism’, tourists can take a four-hour trek to see golden monkeys frolic, feed, and court, hop acrobatically in the trees and care for their young ones. 

The swift monkeys keep themselves busy by pulling faces, grooming each other and flying between tree branches. Currently, they are only found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Virunga National Park in DR. Congo, and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Gishwati forest and Nyungwe forests. Unlike human beings, monkeys and gorillas freely move between the three countries without visas.

This golden monkey trek gives one a chance to see the apes in action, petting and having a siesta. According to researcher Sandra E. Gray, their groups are single male multi-family, meaning there is only one resident male and several adult females, plus young ones of varying ages.

However, for reinforcement, between three and 11 outside males are accepted to join the group temporarily during the breeding season.

For monkeys, communication is done fluently by vocal sounds, sign language and facial expressions. Grey says these have not yet been comprehensively studied and only the most obvious gestures are understood to any degree.

Monkeys eat 33 record plant species, including fruits and flowers. Their menu also comprises small invertebrates and bamboo leaves, which make up the bulk of the diet.

The habitat of golden monkeys is in the evergreen semi-deciduous and bamboo forests. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) directorate of conservation has now completed the process of habituating a family of golden monkeys for experiential tourism.

This is as a strategy meant to diversify tourism activities. Tacking takes place strictly in the mornings and afternoons within a 23– 50 hectare area to maximise the experience. 

“The fee is $100, inclusive of the park entry fees. The maximum number per visiting group per day will be six,” Ingrid Nyonza Nyakabwa, the UWA marketing manager, says. “You will not have any regrets. It is money and time very well spent.” 

               

Getting there

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is located in south-western Uganda. It can be accessed by road and air. Kisoro town, at the foot of Mt.Muhabura, is about 540km from Kampala, which takes about eight hours drive via Kabale on an excellent paved road surface. Public transport by bus is available on a daily basis.

Mgahinga National Park head office is located 13km from Kisoro town and can be accessed by public transport. It is also accessible from Rwanda’s Chanika border post or Eastern DRC’s Bunagana border post. 

Accommodation is available in Kisoro town, a gateway to the park which is adequately served by upmarket and budget hotels. There is a private lodge at the edge of the park and a privately run campsite right outside the park.