By EDMOND KIZITO
Uganda is seeking to make money from its bloody dark past by attracting tourists to the country who are interested in learning about the dark deeds of previous dictators. Stephen Asiimwe, chief executive officer of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), said the plan could double current revenues. He said they would start by commemorating 38 years since the death of Anglican Archbishop Janani Luwum, on February 16, 1977, reportedly shot in the mouth by then president Idi Amin who ruled from 1971 to 1979. Amin was ousted on April 11, 1979 by a combined force of Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles that included current President Yoweri Museveni.
Thousands of people disappeared during the rule of Amin, who assumed power in a January 1971 coup against founding Ugandan leader Milton Obote, who had led the country to Independence on October 9, 1962. The dictator dumped his victims in the River Nile to get rid of incriminating evidence, said Henry Kyemba, a former minister who was also Amin’s brother-in-law. Luwum, after whom a street is named in Kampala, was harassed during a night raid at his home at the Anglican Church headquarters on Namirembe hill near the city where officers went in search of guns. They didn’t find any, but old ones were later displayed for public viewing with the charge that they were found in Luwum’s bedroom.
Amin died in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2003. Another attraction will be the memorial to the killing of 22 Christians martyred on the orders of Buganda King Kabaka Mwanga II, who claimed that his subjects became rebellious after they converted to the new faith. That day is marked every year on June 3, and two popes have visited the actual execution site at Namugongo, the serene neighbourhood outside the capital Kampala, which is now a shrine. However not all of the tourism trail will be doom and gloom. “We wil continue to highlight the positive attributes this country has, including snow on the equator, its pleasant people, a large range of bird species and unique wildlife,” said Edwin Muzahura, UTB’s marketing manager.
President Museveni has promised to raise the sector’s budget. Uganda has some 1,068 bird species — one of the largest concentrations in any country in the world. One out of every three of the world’s primate species can be found in the country. Expenditure on the sector rose from $300,000 two years ago, to about a million dollars in the current financial year. Tourism marketing has been the main beneficiary, with the country’s private sector providing most of the facilities. Last year, some 1.4 million visitors passed through Entebbe International Airport. More are expected as new products are designed. This year, Luwum will be remembered in a unique ceremony at his birthplace Muhwini, a hamlet in northern Uganda. Former UN diplomat Olara Otunnu is also from the same area.
Last week, Dr Otunnu, who heads the opposition party Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), announced the commemorative events. “There are many things on which the opposition can work with the government, and this is one of them,” said Dr Otunnu. President Museveni will grace the occasion on Monday near Kitgum, as will Ugandan-born Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. The speakers will include Luwum’s brother Aloni Okecho, his widow Mary Luwum, 92, and some of the men who were arrested with him.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Uganda-s-dark-past-to-lure-tourists–/-/434746/2630584/-/69ou0u/-/index.html
