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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reassured Ugandans and tourists intending to visit Uganda from across the globe that their safety is guaranteed, after the successful rescue of Kimberly Sue Endecott, an American female tourist and her guide, Jean Paul Mirenge Remezo from armed kidnappers by Ugandan joint security agencies.
The duo had been kidnapped last Tuesday when four armed men ambushed their van as they drove through Queen Elizabeth National Park during evening hours. A joint team of security operatives from Uganda Police and Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) commanded by President Museveni himself immediately embarked on a rescue mission that was successful on Sunday when the two were released by their captors.
“I want to reassure the country and our tourists that Uganda is safe and we shall continue to improve the security in our parks. Come and enjoy the Pearl of Africa,” President Museveni said in a tweet on Monday.
The President had earlier told a cabinet meeting that he handled the rescue mission politically because (they) did not want to risk the lives of those kidnapped.
“By now we would have had them arrested or killed but (we) didn’t want to risk the lives of the two because we wanted them alive. We shall deal with these isolated pockets of criminals,” he said.
Uganda Police Spokesperson, Fred Enanga on Tuesday said all the kidnappers will be brought to book and 8 people have already been arrested.
“We have an identity of the remaining kidnappers and that is encouraging. We shall give an account of each and every one of them and the role they played [in the kidnap].” Enanga said.
Uganda government spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo on Wednesday said others have also been positively identified but not yet arrested. “We hope the arrest of these 8 should be able to lead to the eventual arrest of the whole network
Tourism is Uganda’s biggest revenue source, earning the country about USD 1.5BN annually. It contributes 10% to the national GDP and 23% to exports. According to Civil Aviation Authority statistics, 1.81 Million international arrivals were registered in 2018 alone.
Lilly Ajarova, the Chief Executive Officer Uganda Tourism Board also echoed the President’s reassurance that this kidnap incident is isolated and should not discourage tourists from visiting the Pearl of Africa.
“We assure the Ugandan Community that Uganda is safe. We are gifted by nature in abundance with a lot of beauty for them to come and see,” Ajarova said.
Uganda has been internationally recognized among the top destinations in the world. According to CNN’s travel writer, Anisha Shah, Uganda has much more than what people see every day.
“There’s much more to Uganda. Rich in nature, it’s an outdoor sanctuary of crater lakes, white-sand beaches on lake islands, thundering waterfalls and national parks,” she said.
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