President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda condemned the attack on tourists in Queen Elizabeth National Park by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on October 17, 2023. He vowed to wipe out the ADF and prevent similar attacks from happening again.
In a statement issued on X-platform (formerly Twitter), Museveni said that the attack was carried out by a small group of terrorists who were running away from Operation Shujaa operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Yesterday, on October 17, 2023, we had a most unfortunate and infuriating incident in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. A couple of tourists and a Ugandan driver with them were killed at around 6:00 pm on the Katwe-Kabatooro murram road, by a small group of terrorists running away from our operations in Congo, as I had shared with you in a previous message,” Museveni said.
He said that this was a cowardly act on the part of the terrorists to attack innocent civilians, and that it was especially 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 added.
He further said, “However, killing these wretched individuals will not bring back the lives of these wonderful friends of Uganda who had chosen our country for their honeymoon out of the 193 Countries of the world. Our High Commission in the UK will reach out to their families and provide whatever support is necessary in this tragic situation.”
The President said that more importantly, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), the Police, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) and Intelligences should ensure that these mistakes do not happen again and that 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 stated.
He said that there were a few gaps in the handling of these remnants. “UWA was guarding tourists once they were in the Park. However, apparently, the tourists were arriving and departing individually. It is this gap that they used,” the President said.
He said that the UPDF has been using one form of tracking these fugitive groups from Congo, Kufuata Nyayo- following their tracks (ekisinde, ekirari).
“There are more reliable ways of tracking, which we have discussed with the Army. 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 (bijambiya) in Masaka,” Museveni noted.
The President’s statement was met with widespread condemnation of the ADF attack and support for the UPDF’s efforts to defeat them. Many Ugandans also expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.
The ADF is a Ugandan Islamist rebel group that has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the late 1990s. The group has been blamed for a number of attacks on civilians in both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including the recent attack on tourists in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The UPDF has been conducting Operation Shujaa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since November 2021 in an effort to defeat the ADF. The operation has been successful in killing a number of ADF insurgents and disrupting their operations. However, the group remains a threat to both Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
President Museveni’s vow to wipe out the ADF was welcomed by many Ugandans. However, some experts have warned that it may be difficult to completely defeat the group, given its long history and its ability to operate in remote areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Despite the challenges, the UPDF’s Operation Shujaa has been a success in disrupting the ADF’s operations and killing a number of its insurgents. With the continued support of the Ugandan government and people, the UPDF is well-positioned to defeat the ADF and bring peace to the region.
Fellow Ugandans and, especially, the Bazzukulu.
Yesterday, the 17th of October,2023, we had a most unfortunate and infuriating incident in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. A couple of tourists and the Ugandan driver with them were killed at around 1800hrs on the Katwe-…
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) October 18, 2023
