The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa has called on government to reassure Ugandans on the safety of tourists.
Tayebwa made this call following an attack on by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels which saw two tourists from the United Kingdom and South Africa, along with their tour guide killed.
“We hope that with this incident, we do not lose focus as a country and declare ourselves as if we are insecure. I have seen it happen in other countries but the way we handle it as a country matters most,” said Tayebwa.
Following the Speaker’s communication in the plenary sitting held on Wednesday, 18 October 2023, the Minister for Security, Hon. Jim Muhwezi presented a statement by the President Yoweri Museveni.4
According to the President, the incident occurred in Queen Elizabeth National Park on the Katwe-Kabatooro road.
He described the perpetrators as a small group of terrorists ‘running away from our operations in Congo’.
“It was a cowardly act on the part of the terrorists attacking innocent civilians and tragic for the couple who were newlyweds and visiting Uganda on their honeymoon. Of course, these terrorists will pay with their own wretched lives,” Museveni said.
He noted that the High Commission in the UK has been tasked to reach out to the families of the victims so as to provide necessary support.
Museveni, in his statement, directed the UPDF, Uganda Police and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to ensure that such a situation does not happen again, and that the ADF is wiped out.
“The wiping out is moving very well. What needs to be done is to ensure that the remnants do not commit these atrocities. That is why I congratulate, again, the wanainchi, the Police and other agencies on preventing the bombing of Bunamwaya, Kayanja’s church and the churches in Kibibi, Butambala,” Museveni added.
The President observed that there were some gaps in the handling of the ADF remnants, noting that UWA guards the tourists in the park but do not escort them out.
“The UPDF has been using one form of tracking these fugitive groups from Congo, by following their tracks. There are more reliable ways of tracking, which we have discussed with the army,” Museveni said.
The President added that, “the terrorists will be defeated like Kony was defeated and the cattle rustlers that have been killing people in Karamoja and the surrounding districts or those that were cutting people with pangas in Masaka”.
