From the pulpit to the plunder

An elephant injured by a snare that was set up by poachers in Queen Elizabeth National Park

On a typical Sunday, when the church is full to the brim, Ben Baguma steps up to the pulpit to implore people to abandon their sinful ways. He is the reverend of Rwebisengo Parish in Ntoroko district. When I caught up with him recently, it was not in the environs of Rwebisengo.

He was in detention at Kira Road Police Station in Kampala over charges of poaching elephants. Baguma’s other life came to light when wildlife officials, together with the army, bust a racket behind the armed killing of elephants in Kibale National Park. It was an unpleasant scene.

The reverend was barefooted. Because of his position in society, he always avoided eye contact. He was ashamed of the charges placed against him. Rangers, who were excited about what they called a big catch, kept urging him to face the camera. He did not oblige and they forcefully pushed his head to look up.

It was a ‘feast’ for the pressmen and onlookers. “He has been poaching for long, but his luck ran out when we used spies as buyers of ivory,” said Moses Olinga, a Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) law enforcement officer, who coordinated the operation. “We have a network of informers and Baguma’s name kept coming up as the chief financier of ivory trade in most of the intelligence reports,” he added

What does Uganda Wildlife Authority say?

Charles Tumwesigye, the director of conservation at UWA, confirmed that poaching was still a problem. However, he said the animal numbers for most species were either stable or going up. Tumwesigye said some huge herds of animals were no longer visible because the distribution had changed.

He attributed this to ecological changes, which he said were negatively affecting pastures. As a result, he said, most animals were moving towards Lake George and areas near Kasese in Queen Elizabeth National Park. “We have conducted an animal census and the conclusion is that the animal population is increasing. But the tourism routes will have to be changed in Queen Elizabeth to enable visitors to see the animals easily,” he said.

Reasons for unabated poaching

UWA has been raising awareness by calling for creation of alternative livelihoods for people living near the parks. But the approach has failed to tame poaching. In addition, community conservation strategies are thought to contribute to changing attitudes and mobilizing support, according to sources. But UWA is underfunded and community conservation is not working to reduce poaching, according to sources. “Also, people around the parks are poor and, therefore, depend on bush meat for food and income.”

“In the absence of effective poverty reduction programmes in such areas as national parks, poaching is unstoppable. What are the acceptable alternatives to the poacher?” the source asks. Queen Elizabeth National Park. Its tusks had been extracted from the carcass, meaning UWA officials are still running in the shadows of the poachers at the park.

At Kibale, elephants are being killed using automatic rifles (AK47) or trapped in pits, where sharp sticks are planted and covered with leaves. When the elephants fall into the trap, the poachers cut off the tusks and leave the carcass behind. In northern Uganda, poaching is still a problem in Murchison Falls National Park, but Olinga says the rate has reduced, compared to what it was two years ago.

Uganda among the gang of eight A dark cloud still hangs over Uganda, which was accused at the most recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), of providing a safe haven for poachers from neighbouring countries. The poachers also use Uganda as a trafficking route. Sources also fear that the poachers could turn their guns to Uganda’s elephants. CITES cited Kenya and Tanzania among what they called the ‘gang of eight’, in reference to countries which are doing little to curb the illegal trade in ivory.

Others are Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and destination countries, Thailand and China. The countries were ordered by CITES to provide a programme of action to minimize the trade in ivory in the next 12 months or face sanctions. “There was a high level meeting on elephant poaching when the Thailand prime minister visited Uganda recently,” says Mutagamba. Other measures, according to Mutagamba include setting up an intelligence unit, recruiting 430 rangers and placing gadgets that can detect ivory at Entebbe Airport.

Sources say Kenya has put in place punitive laws, from which Uganda can copy. Poachers from West Africa and countries in Asia were operating rackets in Uganda because of the weak wildlife laws, according to sources. Illegal ivory traced back to Uganda about 1.3 tones of elephant ivory were recovered in Mombasa, Kenya, hidden under fish for export.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the Malaysia-bound ivory was from Uganda. KWS revealed that the ivory was stashed in bundles and sacks and hidden in the fish maws within the container and was ferried from Malaba (at the Kenya-Uganda border) to Mombasa. Its value was estimated at $342,000. Asan Kasingye, the Interpol director told Saturday Vision that they were working with UWA and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to establish the origin of the ivory. Last year, tusks belonging to 200 elephants were impounded at Entebbe Airport, according to Kasingye.

This happened just after a massacre of elephants in Garamba National Park, in the DR Congo, by heavily armed poachers, assisted by a helicopter. Animals hard to see in Queen Elizabeth In areas around Queen Elizabeth National Park, poaching is worse than is reported, according to sources Rwanda elephants faces such problems.

“When you take a game drive through the park, you will keep wondering where the animals have gone.” A tourist who was giving feedback to one of the tour operators after a game drive in Queen Elizabeth complained that the animals were becoming too elusive. Tour operators say Murchison turns into butcher ground In Murchison Falls, the problems have been compounded by the current exploration of oil.

Also key is the fact that bush meat is part of the culture of the people in northern Uganda. While park authorities in Murchison say poaching has scaled down compared to the rate two years ago, tour operators say every time they are on a game drive, they encounter abandoned carcasses or poachers on a hunting spree.

“When you report to UWA, they intimidate you,” a source told Saturday Vision on condition of anonymity. “It is unfair for tourists to spend their money and get almost nothing out of it. After encounters with poachers spearing animals, what will tourists tell others who are planning to come?” Author

Self Drive Safaris Uganda

First and foremost, this is a significantly cheaper option, as accommodations usually come at much lower prices than those found in the private reserves. This quickly translates into much cost savings or being able to spend more days in the Self drive Uganda national park.

Second, you have more flexibility about what to do, what time to get up in the morning, what roads to drive, where and when to eat, etc, potentially making this a better option for self-reliant travelers. Also, there is a real sense of self-satisfaction when you actually find the wildlife on your own without the assistance of professional guides and their off-road jeeps. This can be very rewarding.

The drawbacks are that you must compete with many other drivers and vehicles on the paved roads within Uganda, during the holidays and peak-times, this can potentially mean traffic jams if wildlife sightings are found, particularly near the rest camps. You are not allowed off-road to chase down an elusive leopard or see that rhino obscured from view, behind a tree 80 meters away. Also, you are responsible for the vehicle. Something happens to your rental car, for example, you're probably going to have to pay up for the damages!

Lastly, your accommodations will likely be as nice and by staying at a private reserve lodge, you are able to avail of the generally nicer accommodations, have meals provided, often next to a campfire as you are able to share stories about what game viewing took place during the day. Some private reserves even come with spa options.

The real benefit of the private reserve option, however, is the safari experience. In the private reserves, you are usually led by professional/ experienced trackers and drivers, using off-road capable jeeps. Thus, you will more likely be able to spend quality time, up close with wildlife compared to self-drive trips, where you are restricted to driving on the designated roads within the national park. This is an important difference as certain wildlife are shy, elusive and spend much more time away from the main roads. Being able to track, follow and pursue them off-road, can be the difference between spending 20 minutes watching a leopard with its kill up in a tree and not even seeing the leopard altogether. While is very possible you will see all members of the Big Five and many other animals in the national parks from the main roads and viewing areas, opportunities for spending quality time with wildlife are simply better with the private reserves.

There are drawbacks to the private reserve lodges as well. First, you are trading the decision making flexibility of the self-drive option for the more fixed schedule of the private reserve schedule/itinerary. Also and most importantly, are costs. Private reserves are not a cheap option. Instead, they can easily cost 3, 5 or even 10 times what you might spend on a self-drive experience. This means you do have to pony-up in order stay at a private reserve lodge and you might need to consider staying fewer days compared to a self-drive trip.

To each his own when it comes to making the decision about whether to self-drive in Uganda park or opt to stay at a private reserve lodge in Greater Murchison falls national park. If costs are an important consideration, a self-drive experience should be highly considered. Also, for those who prefer self-reliant style travel or simply want the freedom and flexibility of driving on their own, the self-drive experience might be more preferred. For those with limited time and the budget to work with, the private reserve lodge experience is worth considering. Also, for those who prefer a step up in the comforts, services side of travel and/or those who want to maximize their wildlife viewing opportunities, the private reserve experience is probably the better way to go.

For your long wildlife safaris you can get enough of Uganda National Parks

At the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park, This haven of wild life is one of the must visit places in Uganda. The most incredible thing about the park though, is the fact that each visit is a novel experience and maybe even better than the first.

Like a colleague quipped, you can never get enough of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This statement is very true. Every time you get there, there is still something new to discover. Although I had been to this place before, it was still quite refreshing to revisit what Uganda Wildlife Authority dubs as Uganda’s most popular tourist destination.

A light drizzle accosted part of the morning ahead of the wonderful safari. On that Friday morning, a group of journalists and I set off from National Theatre at 11.15am, one hour late from the originally scheduled time.

A journey of learning

Our two safari Omnibuses were to move together, as matter of policy from Ugandan Tour, our hosts. A stopover at the equator which divides the earth into the northern and southern hemisphere was made and as usually happens here, Kodak moments took centre stage. “Smile, say cheers,” and other such requests combed the air as camera flashes shone on our faces.

Kato William, our guide and driver was good company as he explained several things along the way, things he had learned over the years from when he was an “intern” of sorts, like he were reading from a book about the park.

Going through its unique selling points, he said the park used to have rinderpest and tsetse flies in the past. These helped drive away many people who had started encroaching on the land. When it was sprayed and eventually rid of the “enemy”, people moved back into it but are now mostly live on its fringes.

At the haven of nature

We arrived some minutes past 7pm, exhausted. After we were allocated double and triple rooms, dinner and sleep occupied our minds most ahead of Saturday’s game drive. On Saturday, we woke up for a 6am breakfast and William spread out the itinerary.

“The park has about 2,500 elephants. Males have rounded foreheads,” he explained. The park has a network of many game tracks which end at the Kasenyi fishing village. As William had intimated, we saw elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, the Uganda Kob and herds of Buffaloes.

Kobs make sharp sounds to alert each other of potential danger in case they see strange faces or a lion in vicinity; such sounds were made when our vans inched forward. When mating is a whole different game.

However, our highlight was when we quietly watched lions at their mating ground. With the aid of binoculars, we saw about four lying down quietly around a rock. Not far from them were the Kobs, also at their mating ground, north east of Mweya. “Males have their own territories they keep from fellow males,” says our guide.

He added that females search for strong males to mate with preferably those with better genes. Uganda Kobs prefer flat areas because they can then easily see the lions from a distance. We saw a female Kob trying to win the hearts of some males but by the time we left she had been unsuccessful. Edroma told us that unlike humans, the female Kobs search for their mating partner.

They swing their tiny tails as a sign that they are ready and available. Although the males sniff at the tails when wooed, it is the females to make their pick, a tumultuous task, so we learned with first-hand experience. We don’t know if our presence and prying cameras made life hell for the animals, but we let them have their peace and off we continued to Kasenyi.

The Kasenyi community

At Kasenyi crater where Lake Bunyampaka lies, William told us, plots (portions containing salt in the lake) are demarcated and sold the way land is sold. In the Kasenyi community, we saw how life entirely depends on fish. Most people here say they do not benefit from the animals and that the animals sometimes encroach on their land. Life is slow and residents have many children. Most houses are made of mud and wattle and people spend time conversing as they wait for the fishermen.

At Kyambura Gorge, Bernard Twine, another guide told us that the 100 metres deep place has five primate species. It comprises the gorge, Kyambura River and Kyambura Forest. I was lucky to have visited this gorge sometime back, unlike my colleagues because it wasn’t on the itinerary. Seeing that this large expanse is also within Queen Elisabeth National Park, it tells you how big this park is. Touring it in two days may seem quite hectic, but you won’t have seen everything.

Cruising along Kazinga Channel

The following day we set off at Kazinga Channel at 3pm. Edna Pukwatsibwe, our guide, took us through the history of the place as we sailed on the waters. It is then that I remembered she was the same guide some years back when I visited the park no wonder she knew the channel like the back of her hand.

Edna says the channel is within the Albertine Rift Valley. The natural channel is eight metres deep and stretches 40km long. It is home to 95 mammal species and 612 bird species. Hippos, which live for 45 years, can kill but do not eat people. Hippos stay in groups called schools. A school has 40 members usually with one dominant male.

Elephants have 80-100 year life span, we learned. Edna said an elephant has a sharp memory. It can take revenge if you encounter it again, years after doing something bad to it. Along the channel, there are plenty of fauna to see.

There were lots of bird species such as Egyptian geese, the yellow billed stork and white pelicans as well as hippos swimming side by side with buffaloes. Elephants and crocodiles were also a good sight attraction. The two hour journey includes a point where Lakes Edward and George “meet.”

At 5pm, true to the guide’s word, we were back at the shore with our vans waiting for us. Departure on Sunday morning at 7.50a.m made us yearn to reach our respective homes.

Viewing lions on our way back made the whole trip worthwhile. Several tourists’ cars inched close to the animals who felt agitated seeing cameras flashing away and disrupting their seemingly peaceful and quiet evening.

When tonto unified Uganda Culture

A man crushes ripe bananas in a trough to make tonto, a popular brew in western Uganda.

But this is becoming something of the past, not because the brew is no longer made but the purpose it used to serve, and the mode of consumption.

If there was a culturally unifying factor in Ankole, especially the agricultural community, it would be tonto. A local brew made out of matoke and sorghum.

But this is becoming something of the past, not because the brew is no longer made but the purpose it used to serve, and the mode of consumption.

Encompass

Today, people drink tonto as individuals at home and in bars and it is more of a source of income than a cultural drink.

Mr. Elifazi Rwabushaija, 53, says people have become very individualistic and that is why this unity the drink used to encompass is no longer there.

“It used to be a forum where we met to deliberate on issues concerning our society like on discipline, development and issues relating to strengthening our culture.’’

Discipline

These drinking gatherings used to rotate from home to home and there was no need to worry about looking for the money to drink.

Rwabushaija said strict discipline was maintained during these drinking gatherings. For instance, children were not allowed to join the elders while women drank it separately from men.

Residents who misbehaved during the gatherings were fined, for example, a goat that would be slaughtered and eaten.  Mr. Zabrooni Rwakaikara, 67, of Rwampara in Mbarara, says even one who made a brew that did not conform to standards was also fined.

So, you had to ensure you maintain good standards like the ingredients to be used during brewery. Unlike today, in the past drinking beer used to play a very significant role especially on uniting and keeping bonds together.

Values

“These days alcohol consumption has become a source of evil unlike in the past, whereas we used these drinking gatherings as a way to instill discipline in our societies ,reflect on our cultural norms and values these days it’s the opposite they drinking joints have become hubs for thieves, rapists, murderers name it,” said Rwakaikara.

At ceremonies like marriage and introductions never went ahead without blessing of this brew.

“It was a must-have by the bridegroom’s entourage as they went for introductions; we had special people to test the booze to ensure it was very good. Should you bring tonto that does not conform to the quality taste, the function could even be to be called off” Rwakaikara added.

But these days, these functions are blessed with beers and soda.

He also says during the days of Ankole Kingdom, the subjects of the king brewed the tonto and bring to the palace and those that used to brew the best of it will be rewarded like with land, exempted from paying taxes among others.

How it is made

Tonto is a traditional fermented beverage made from bitter bananas (embiire) and is also referred as mwenge bigere.

It is made by ripening the green bananas (embiire) in a pit for several days.

The juice is then extracted mostly using feet in a wooden trough, filtered and diluted before being mixed with ground and roasted sorghum. The mixture is fermented again a wooden trough for two to four days to make tonto.

Lutembe, the threatened bird paradise, Mabamba bay wetland birding places in Uganda

                                A mixed flock of gulls make for interesting watching at the site.

LUTEMBE – Numbering millions, they fly at once in patterns, blocking light from the sky. In a mind-boggling display, they land. In less than a minute, it is quiet again.

It is baffling how they do not knock each other while in flight or why they can never be hit if one lobbed a stone in their midst.

Experts say they have a complicated navigation system that enables some of them to fly from as far away as Siberia non-stop to Lutembe Bay on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda. And these are not stealth bombers. They are terns — migratory birds.

For centuries, Lutembe Bay has been hosting both native and millions of Palearctic migrant birds. They come mainly from the arctic region that includes mainland Europe, Scandinavian countries and as far away as Russia.

They live nine months of the year here and only go back to Europe to breed. Some fly non-stop to and from the Caspian Sea. However, this allure at Lutembe Bay, one of the biggest breeding sanctuaries for migratory birds, is now threatened by human activity if nothing is urgently done.

Achilles Byaruhanga, the executive director of Nature Uganda, says toxic agrochemicals suspected to have leached from the nearby flower farms have been detected in the waters around this Ramsar Site – wetland of international importance.

Byaruhanga says Lutembe Bay is threatened first, by water abstraction – a process where large quantities of water is drawn to water the flower farms.

“Because of this draining, the marshy water at the bay will become muddy, leading to other vegetation to colonize the area, thus reducing not only the habitat and the feeding area for the birds, but also their roosting space,” Byaruhanga says.

Secondly, he says following a 16-year study, agro-chemicals have now been detected in the waters at the bay. This when not controlled, he says, will pollute the waters and not only threaten the fish stocks, but human beings as well.

Lutembe Bay hosts over 70% of the global population of white-winged black terns (Chlidonias leucopterus), large numbers of the grey-headed gulls (Larus cirrocepharus), black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) and gull-billed terns (Sterna nilotica).

In 2000, Lutembe hosted almost the entire population of the white-winged black terns — over 3.5 million birds. The birds start coming from September to October every year and go back between February and March.

In Europe, they are again seen between May and June. Every year, the birds come with their young, hatched the previous season.

The hatchlings are left behind to practice breeding. At this stage, their all–white colour changes to black. Others only have their heads change to black. This change of colour is called breeding plumage.

When it is time to go back and breed, the young ones fly as black birds, breed and come back to Lutembe when they are white. The cycle has been going on for centuries.

“If Lutembe is affected, tourism would suffer not only in Uganda, but also in Europe as the breeding pattern of the birds would be destroyed. If they do not get places like Lutembe, they will not breed. These birds must be given an opportunity to practice breeding,’’ Byaruhanga argues.

He says Uganda receives the biggest share of all Palearctic birds in Africa due to the country’s big and fresh water masses.

Other areas in the country that attract migratory birds include the Kazinga Channel and Musambwa Island. The birds feed on insects and small fish.

Records from Nature Uganda show that Uganda earns over $6m (sh15.3b) from birding tourism, doubling earnings from gorilla tracking. Birding is a high-end tourism product, where birders stay long, leaving more money in the country.

The tourism sector is the second largest foreign exchange earner and generated $805m (about sh2.1 trillion) in foreign exchange earnings in the fiscal year 2011/2012. In particular, the sector’s total contribution to GDP is estimated at $1.4b (about sh3.5 trillion), representing 7.6% of GDP; in the year 2011, trailing only remittances from abroad.

Uganda was recently declared a preferred bird watching destination 2013/2014, a development expected to uphold the country as a birder’s paradise.

About half of all bird species in Africa can be found in Uganda. The country supports more than 1,000 bird species, representing about 50% of the bird species in Africa and 11% of the birds’ global population.

Lutembe is home to 280 species of both water and non-water birds. Apart from Palearctic migrant birds, Lutembe is also home to seven globally threatened species like papyrus yellow warbler, papyrus gonolek, shoebill, African skimmer great snipe and Madagascar Squacco, among others.

A team from Nature Uganda spotted a new migrant species, the great knot, in 2010. The site also hosts hundreds of Palearctic ducks like the garganey (Anas querquedula).

At an altitude of 1,130 metres, covering an area of about 800 hectares, Lutembe Bay is shallow, papyrus-fringed, and almost completely cut off from the main body of Lake Victoria by two papyrus islands.

The biggest congregations of the European birds at Lutembe are gulls and terns, which roost on islets when the water level is low, between September and March.

En-route to Uganda, the terns have stop-over in Sudan and Egypt along the River Nile while the gulls can fly from the Caspian Sea to Lutembe non-stop.