President Museveni has described the yesterday evening attack that left two foreign tourists and their Ugandan driver dead in Queen Elizabeth national park as a “cowardly act”, vowing to make the assailants pay with their own wretched lives.
The tourists who were reportedly newlyweds and visiting Uganda for their honeymoon are said to have been attacked and killed alongside their Ugandan driver by suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels at Nyamunuka along Katwe- Kabatooro road in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda district of Kasese.
President Museveni said Uganda’s High Commission in the UK will reach out to their families and provide whatever support is necessary in this tragic situation.
In his statement on X-platform (formerly Twitter), Museveni said the attack was carried out by a small group of terrorists who are running away from Operation Shujaa operations.
The President said the UPDF, the Police, the UWA and Intelligences should ensure these mistakes do not happen again and that ADF is wiped out.
The Tuesday attack comes days after President Museveni said on Sunday that security forces had foiled a bomb attack on churches by an ADF rebel group.
Meanwhile, a day after the murder of two tourists, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has assured tourists that Queen Elizabeth National Park is safe and secure and will remain open to visitors.
Sam Mwandha, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) said they have held several meetings with various security agencies that are in the region, including the UPDF, Uganda Police, the Resident District Commissioner for Kasese, and UWA staff and developed a programme to ensure that the park guests and community are safe.
He said they will continue with the deployment and additional discussions to ensure that they adjust their activities appropriately and that park visitors are secure and enjoy Uganda.
By yesterday evening, joint security forces led by Uganda Peoples Defence Forces continued to comb sections of the national park and the neighboring suburbs for suspected attackers.
Specialized units of Uganda Police Force personnel, Uganda Wild Life Authority (UWA) rangers and intelligence services have also been deployed.
