Uganda‬ is Safe, Calm and remains a Hospitable Country to visit

#‎Uganda‬ is Safe, Calm and remains a Hospitable Country to visit

International and some local media have carried stories to the effect that there are specific terror threats targeting Uganda and particularly Kampala Capital City.

In an emergency warning issued late Wednesday, the US mission in Kampala said it had "received information of possible terrorist threats to locations where Westerners, including US citizens, congregate in Kampala, and that an attack may take place soon" adding that some planned events had been cancelled at Kampala hotels. The US Embassy however, gave no further details.

Ugandan defence spokesman Paddy Ankunda said the warning was "absolutely" linked to the Al-Qaeda-backed Islamist's, who have carried out major attacks in Kampala in the past.

As you are all aware, Uganda is a key contributor to the African Union's AMISOM force battling the Al-Shabaab inside Somalia. However, the threat was "low level", added Ankunda.

Uganda alongside countries in the region, and others world over including the United States of America face the daily threat of terrorism from such groups as the Al Shabab and the Allied Democratic Forces, and have put in place effective counter terrorism measures, especially in Kampala – Uganda’s Capital and at other vital installations such as Entebbe International Airport so as to ensure that those groups do not succeed in their evil plans.

The Uganda Police, together with sister security agencies, continuously, and on a daily basis, focus on the threat of terrorism and evaluates whatever information relating to any possible attacks on the country.

As Uganda Tourism Board, we wish to reassure the public, especially the travelers to Uganda and in particular those visiting Kampala Capital City and Entebbe that there is no cause for alarm. Uganda, the Pearl of Africa is secure and out of any harm’s way. Our armed forces, police and intelligence are on full alert in all public places and tourist attractions to ensure that tourists continue enjoying our pristine destination.

However, even with this reassurance, Uganda Tourism Board asks for vigilance, and advises that you report any suspicious items lying in any premises, any suspicious individuals and activities to the nearest police station, security officer, or Local Council official.

For more information please contact

Uganda Tourism Board
Plot 42, Windsor Crescent, Kololo
Tel: +256 414 342 196/7 or Fax: +256 414 342 188
E: utb@tourismuganda.info

Uganda’s 184 Tourism Police Officers Deployed after Graduation

KAMPALA, tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/GANDA - Tourism, the world's most traded commodity and tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda's second foreign exchange earner at $662m behind remittances, cannot be left unattended to as an unregulated sector. The unit of 184 police officers was unveiled last week to protect and ensure safety of all tourists in tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda.

tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda Police on Friday 25^th January graduated 184 officers to serve in the newly instituted tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda Tourism Police. Grandaunts have been undergoing a 1 month specially intensive course at the National Police School in Masindi which included tourism laws, regulations and policy, customer care and guest relations, understanding hospitality but also specially targeted techniques like security procedures and concepts, hostage rescue procedures, operational planning and weapons training. Staff from the tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda Tourist Board and the tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda Wildlife Authority were among those who delivered lectures and interacted with the officers during their month long training to instill a greater understanding to them how the sector works and interacts with the country’s economy and society at large.

Officiating over the pass-out the Inspector General of Police Lt. General Kayihura said: ‘It is important to develop a Tourism Police to counter the threat of terrorists who might target them (tourists) when they are here’.

The officers will be deployed immediately to key tourism attractions, places of interest regularly visited by tourists but also to key hotels in the city of Kampala in order to boost existing surveillance and monitoring capacity.

The national police chief also announced on the occasion that a new dedicated anti terrorism training school will be set up in the district of Kanungu, which borders the key Bwindi Gorilla National Park and extends to the border with the Congo DR, where land has been secured for that purpose.

Peter Okoshi Simon, commandant of the new force said that for tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda to benefit from the industry, tourists both local and international should be protected.

“The Tourism Police must work with the sector to ensure that their work is well regulated,” Okoshi said. He added that the Tourism police are supposed to operate throughout the country in the different tourist destinations like the game parks, game reserves, hotels among others.

“The security force should be able to prevent crimes before they happen,” he said.

Tourism stakeholders were swift to extend praise to the government for providing specialist training for these 184 police officers while expressing hope that more such courses would now be conducted in order to boost numbers and allow deployment across the entire country to all areas and sites of importance to the tourism industry.

Last year, the tourism sector was threatened by political protests-the walk-to-work which left 10 people dead including a two year old and hundreds injured as police and protestors forced ends meet. The protests scared the would be visitors who feared for the lives.

Today, the country’s security can be described as stable although the For God and My Country (4GC formely activists for change (A4C)), the opposition pressure group continues to hold rallies addressing issues about the economy. This time around the rallies are to a greater extent peaceful as tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda police is trying to ensure that they don’t turn violent like the walk-to-work protests.

tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda, which was the top tourism destination in East African in the 1960s, lost its glory to Kenya due to the many civil wars it had.
The revamping of the tourism sector which started in the early 1990s hit a snag in 1999 when about eight British tourists were killed in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park by suspected Rwandan rebels believed to have come from the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Its revival has been ongoing since then, and this has seen a tremendous growth with tours/uganda-chimp-wildlife-gorilla-trek-7-days/ganda now targeting about 1.2 million tourists this year.

How safe is Uganda for Tourists?

 How safe is Uganda for Tourists?

Uganda is generally considered to be a safe, stable country with low crime rates. The Sudan border region and the Karamoja in the north should be avoided (with exception of Kidepo Valley National Park).

Use common sense in the cities – do not carry large amounts of cash or valuables, and keep money and credit cards in an inside pocket.

Shs50,000 spot fine for littering Entebbe

 

Authorities at Entebbe Municipal Council, where Uganda’s only international airport is located have introduced definite penalties against people found littering garbage as a measure to step up cleanliness in the town. The new penalty, that would include paying Shs50,000, according to Entebbe Mayor Vincent Kayanja, has been embedded in a new bylaw that came into force yesterday.

“A person found littering garbage from today will pay a definite penalty of Shs50,0000 where the whistleblower would part with Shs25,000 and the municipal enforcers and police who implement the law would share the remaining Shs25,000,” Mr. Kayanja said while officiating at the ‘Youth New Year Gala’ that saw residents competing in football, bicycle racing, ludo and boxing on Monday.

Mr Kayanja said Entebbe Municipality spends a lot of money on cleaning roads at the expense of a few negligent people who liter garbage. The Municipal Council spends at least Shs82m on collecting garbage per year.

Division A chairman David Wasswa Kasule said the new measure would reduce the costs on garbage collection.
This is not the first city or town to introduce a bylaw against littering. Kampala Central Division also has a bylaw where people are fined Shs50,000 on being caught littering the city.

Entebbe is also a popular night stop of several tourists and foreign visitors. Popular places of tourist interest in Entebbe include the Uganda Wildlife Education Center (Uganda's only zoo), the botanical gardens, several beach resorts, and a snake park.

Uganda Ebola Outbreak Under Control - World Health Organisation

 The World Health Organization has said that authorities are halting the spread of Ebola.

Joaquim Saweka, the WHO representative in Uganda, told reporters in Kampala that everyone known to have had contact with Ebola victims has been isolated.

Health officials have created an "Ebola contact list" with names of people who had even the slightest contact with those who contracted Ebola. The list now bears 176 names.

"The structure put in place is more than adequate," Saweka said. "We are isolating the suspected or confirmed cases."

Ebola was confirmed in Uganda on July 28, several days after a few people died in a remote corner of western Uganda. At least 16 Ugandans have died of the disease.

Saweka said that organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are helping Ugandan officials to control the spread of Ebola.

This is the fourth outbreak of Ebola in Uganda since 2000, when the disease killed 224 people and left hundreds more traumatized in northern Uganda.

Ebola is highly infectious and kills quickly. The disease was first reported in 1976 in Congo and is named for the river where it was recognized, according to the CDC.

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Uganda Very Safe for Tourists Despite Fighting in Nearby Congo

By Ivan Kabenge
www.gorillasandwildlifesafaris.com

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)  has come out to assure tourists that the border national parks in western Uganda are safe despite ongoing fighting in neighbouring DR Congo.

There has been growing speculation about the safety of tourists visiting Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Lillian Nsubuga, the UWA Public Relations Manager said Wednesday that UWA is working with security agencies and UPDF to maintain land, air and marine surveillance of the parks and borders to ensure safety of visitors.

A mountain Gorilla in Uganda

Also, the wildlife body is working with Rwanda under the Greater Virunga Transboundary Collaboration (GVTC) to protect the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif where clashes have occurred.

"This reassurance is aimed at assuring tourists that are planning to visit Uganda's parks that they have nothing to worry about their safety, and that they do not need to cancel their trips," Nsubuga said in a statement.

Tourism is currently Uganda's second highest foreign exchange earner, having brought in US$800m last year. Also, last year, Uganda was voted the best tourism destination for 2012 by the Lonely Planet.

Tourist lodges and guest houses in western Uganda areas which border with the restive eastern DRC, have recently reported cancellations or postponements of visits by tourists.

However, other lodges such as Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Silverback Lodge in Bwindi, reported not being affected and the reservations had been honoured.

"UWA calls on the public especially communities neighouring the national parks to help in strengthening the security in their areas by reporting any suspicious people or activities in their vicinity," Nsubuga said.

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For more information about tours and safaris to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda, visit https://www.gorillasandwildlifesafaris.com/ or email info@gorillasandwildlifesafaris.com/