Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni yesterday insisted that his country was safe for travelers, after the kidnapping of a US tourist, but vowed to further strengthen security in national parks.
California businesswoman Kim Endicott and her experienced safari guide Jean-Paul Mirenge, on Sunday were recovered unharmed after a ransom was paid for their release, six days after they were abducted by gunmen while on an evening game drive in the Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Tourism is a key industry for Uganda.
“Uganda is safe,” Museveni wrote on Twitter, adding that authorities would “deal with these isolated pockets of criminals” and “continue to improve security in our parks.”
“Come and enjoy the Pearl of Africa,” he said.
Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the nation’s most popular wildlife reserves, runs along the border with conflict-wracked regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo wrote on Twitter that Endicott and Mirenge, were rescued “by Uganda security forces in the DRC.”
“The kidnappers have escaped and operations continue,” he said.
The Ugandan police’s tourist protection force had deployed a special response unit working alongside soldiers and wildlife rangers in the hunt for the kidnapped pair, but it appeared they had been recovered for an unknown sum of money.
Mike Walker, manager of Wild Frontiers Safaris, said the pair were “back safe.”
“Ransom paid and people exchanged,” he told reporters by text, adding that he did not know the “precise amount yet.”
Police had said the kidnappers used Endicott’s mobile telephone to demand a ransom of US$500,000 for the release of the pair.
Asked about the ransom, police spokeswoman Polly Namaye would not confirm directly, but referred reporters to the tour company, saying it was “an authority on its own.”
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