Travel Uganda 4 printing.compressed

The drive offers fantastic scenery and takes one past The iconic elephant
the Owen Falls Dam in Jinja near the source of the tusks that usher you into
River Nile, to the Uganda-Kenya border, and on to the Mombasa city.
rift valley towns of Eldoret or Kisumu on the Kenyan Below: Nyali beach
side of Lake Victoria. Eldoret is where many of Kenya’s Mombasa’s best beaches
famous athletes come from, and the turn-off to Iten that offer a calm and
takes one through their highland training areas. relaxing ambiance.
Kisumu, on the other hand, is a typical lakeside town,
with lots of fish to sample. beaches, hotels, night clubs and fun. I remember
sitting with friends one long evening on the sand at
Nairobi is the biggest and greenest city in East Africa. the Sarova Whitesands hotel beach after the tide had
It borders a game park, has an animal sanctuary, gone out. Next morning, I could not find my shoes.
green areas including a forest and hosts the largest Clearly, the Tusker beer had been too much.
offices of the United Nations outside the developed
world. My first impressions were of a city in a hurry. Dar es Salaam
Everybody seemed to be rushing somewhere. “It is
the work culture among Kenyans,” a taxi driver said. The Swahili capital
“Everybody is rushing to work.” I later discovered
that Nairobi is not all about work. The city has great Arusha is about 650 kms north of the Tanzanian
nightlife – ranging from all night shopping, to bars capital, Dar es Salaam. The journey by bus is a long,
and restaurants that open 24 hours a day – many with winding drive that many people prefer to take a flight
live music. This city probably consumes the biggest – now made much cheaper by low-cost Fastjet flights.
amount of meat and alcohol each day in the region. My first impressions of Dar es Salaam are of great fish
“Hakuna matata,” they say, as they wolf down chunks and fine seaside beaches. Tanzanians are probably
of nyama choma. the politest people in East Africa. They too speak
great Swahili.
Nairobi has the busiest airport in the region, so lots
of people come into town. There are also plenty At Bahari Beach hotel, the manager was all smiles
of flights to other parts of the country and region. even when the light went out. Along the beach,
The hotels are often filled by travellers. There are everybody offered a greeting. One young man pointed
ambitious plans to build a commuter railway to ease
the traffic congestion. A recently built highway has
opened up the northern suburbs and eased traffic to
that direction. Not too far away are more game parks,
colonial attractions in central region, and places
of historical interest. Last year, Nairobi welcomed
Kenya’s flagship SGR railway line to Mombasa – a true
master piece of Chinese engineering.

Mombasa

A cosmopolitan city

Mombasa is probably East Africa’s tourism capital. My
first impression was of an extremely cosmopolitan
city – where rich and poor, young and old, locals and
foreigners, whites and blacks and Arabs and Indians;
all mix. “Mombasa raha,” said the taxi driver at the
airport. “Enjoy,” he added as we zoomed around the
streets, where old Swahili architecture still rules.

There is the north coast and south coast – miles of

49

Top: the waterfront of Dar es at a boat heading to the Zanzibar: “Great ride to the Arusha
Salaam city. most beautiful place in East Africa,” he said.
Above: fishermen display Where tranquility rei ns
their sea catch.
My other favourite city in East Africa is Arusha. I
Like other big East African cities, Dar es Salaam teems equate Arusha with tranquility. The 54-km drive
with people, many sweating in the humid heat. Yet, from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha is a
there is an easiness about it that makes one want fantastic opportunity to see a bit of rural Tanzania.
to come back. Nearby, are attractions like the old Lying below Mt Meru, not too far from some of
slave market at Bagamoyo. It was here that I felt a the biggest game parks in Tanzania including the
deep sense of anguish at the pain that African slaves Serengeti, Arusha enjoys a cool climate. I am always
suffered. impressed by two things - the people and the easily
available fresh fruits.
“Bwagamoyo in Swahili means to break the heart,” Once, we drove down from Nairobi past open Masai
said the young man who was roasting fish for us. grassland and an elephant blocking the highway
“That is what happened here. Many hearts were after Namanga border crossing. We then drove up
broken.” The town, a world heritage site, is worth a the slopes of Mt Meru to enjoy the scenic view from
visit.
Wild animals at the Serengeti National game parks in Tanzania.

50

The Arusha clock tower. The tower marks the midpoint on the Cairo-to-Cape Town highway in Arusha. An aerial view of Bujumbura
by night. Below; Fishermen
the hillside villages, to Moshi and Mererani to see on Lake Tanganyika.
the Tanzanite mines. At church on Sunday, there was
a lady dressed in a gomesi. It turned out she was a 51
Ugandan married to an Air Tanzania pilot who trained
at Soroti Flying School. “You must come to my house,”
she told my wife.

Bujumbura

Little is beautiful

The other impressive city is Bujumbura. A small city,
Bujumbura radiates an aura of homeliness. Lying on
the shores of Lake Tanganyika, the beaches fill with
people on weekends. Two things impressed me- the
beaches and the quiet ambiance. Years of war took
a toll on the city and even the big hotels like Hotel
Source du Nil and the beautifully designed airport,
have suffered. Bujumbura, however, is picking up the
pieces. Game parks like Rizizi are worth a visit.

One evening, while drinking Heineken at a local
joint near Cibitoke when a stranger came up to me.
We picked up a conversation. Burundians are very
courteous even to strangers. “There is one thing you
must see,” he said. “The playing grounds of Vital’O
sports club. On a lucky day, you might find the
president jogging around the pitch.”

Top: A view of Kigali Kigali undergone is mind-boggling. From a typical run-down
city. Above: Rwandese African metropolis, Kigali today is the most organised
traditional dancers. A city of order and discipline city in East Africa. At the airport, smart immigration
officers rush you through.
52 About 280 kms north of Bujumbura is Kigali,
the capital of Rwanda. I have visited Kigali many I remember the taxi driver warning me not to step on
times since 1994 and the change that the city has the beautifully manicured grass at the airport parking
area. “It is all about discipline, everybody doing what
is right,” he said.

A friend living in Nyarutarama, a relatively new
residential area, took me out one evening, and it was
amazing to see how the city has transformed itself.
Next day on a drive to Gisenyi in the far south, it was
clear that change has reached Rwandan villages.

Not too far from Kigali, Rwanda has plenty to offer
tourists, including game attractions and amazing
hilly terrain. They too have unique products like
the naming of young gorillas, and the big one – the
genocide museum.

Gorillas & More

53

Caravan gives mileage

“I cannot believe I have seen half of Rwanda’s tourism sites within a day. Next year I
will surely return,” Abraham Awodi, a journalist from Ni eria summed up the feelin of
thousands of tourists who joined the Rwanda Development Board or anized Caravan
tour as part of events to mark this year’s annual baby orilla namin ceremony.

Iwas here three years ago but we went Buhanga Eco-Park was the location of the
straight to the gorilla naming event,” anoth- king’s coronation and today boasts 150 bird
er journalist from Uganda chipped in. species as well as the cherished Unity Tree.

The Caravan that started from Kigali, made The tourists were also treated to a tour of
various stopovers before settling at the foot Urwibutso Enterprises, in Nyirangarama.
of the Virunga Mountains for the ninth edi- Here, they sampled the famous cuisine as
tion of the Kwita Izina. well as learn about how this business has
transformed the local community.
Tourists, like Awodi got an opportunity to visit
different sites such as the Nyabarongo River The team also visited Muhabura Hotel,
as well as the Buhanga Eco-Park and the where handcraft products made by locals
famous ‘Twin Lakes’ – Lake Burera and Lake were showcased and sold for the whole
Ruhondo – which left visitors awestruck. week as well as the two-kilometre under-
ground Musanze Caves.

Traditional Rwandese dancers. The Nyabarongo River in Rwanda.

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“I did not know that Rwanda has beautiful
caves. What I have experienced now has given
me more reason to bring others also to witness
what I have seen,” Susan Bright, a Canadian
tourist

The Caravan tour gave Rwanda a lot of expo-
sure and helped RDB promote existing sites
and opportunities to the world.

This year every tourist went contented and
excited of coming back to Rwanda for the next
Kwita I zina.

“I am happy that RDB has broadened its scope.
I was also impressed by the media team and
tourists. I compliment RDB staff for being ready
to answer thousands of questions we had,”
Awodi said.

This year’s Kwita Izina saw 12 baby gorillas
named, under the theme, ‘Celebrating Nature,
Empowering Communities.’

Some of the journalists at the Caravan.

The Kwita Izina Caravan –
My Experience

As part of the activities to celebrate 2017
Gorilla naming, known as Kwita Izina, Rwanda
Development Board organised a caravan tour
that drew over 80 local, regional and interna-
tional journalists. I was lucky to be part of the
team that toured several sites.

The caravan started in Kigali city and made
several stopovers, the first being at Shyorongi,
where we got the best view of Kigali city. We
then proceeded to Nyabarongo River.

We were taken to Nyirangarama, an enterprise
that began as a small farming operation in
1996. Today the enterprise runs one of the
most popular and successful food and bever-
ages business in the country. We also visited
the animal husbandry wing and factory wing of
entrepreneur Sina Gerald before we proceed-
ed to Musanze town for Lunch.

A performance during the Kwita Izina ceremony.

55

formed during major volcanic eruptions.
The two kilometres long caves are home
to a large colony of bats as well as incred-
ible plant growth and rock formations.
Trekking through the caves takes you
deep underground with local guides who
kept on explaining to the team the history
and significance of this beautiful natural
wonder.

At the Buhanga Eco-park, a coronation
site for former Rwandan Kings, we were
briefed about how the coronation cere-
monies were organised.

Local handmade Agaseke basket. From Musanze, we went to Burera where A number of journalists and tourists who
we visited the twin lakes namely Burera participated in the caravan tour, com-
“I did not know that Rwanda has and Ruhondo before heading to tour mended Rwanda Development Board
beautiful caves. What I have Virunga Lodge in Burera District. (RDB) for organising such a wonderful
experienced now has given me tour, it afforded us the opportunity to ex-
more reason to bring others also to We were shown how the lodge was built perience the beauty of the Rwanda which
witness what I have seen,” Susan in a traditional way and we were guided most of us we had never known
Bright, a Canadian tourist to its various parts. Other members of the
team visited Musanze cave. This cave is This innovation by RDB is a step ahead in
thought to be over two million years and bringing diversification of tourism and I
was personally impressed by the number
of journalists and tourist that attend this
year’s celebration.

Rwanda rolls out online tourism booking system

By Travel Uganda reporter The system reduces the red tape and innovation, Rwanda has deployed the online
time wasted in moving from one office to booking system which will go ahead to give
Uganda once again walks in the shadow of another to access tickets to the parks. more access and satisfaction to their tourist
Rwanda as the progressive and innovative The system also helps to track down every that visits that country.
neighboring country goes ahead to coin that would get lost in corruption as Uganda needs to realize that the world
implement an online booking system which well as giving the tourist power to choose is fast moving to placing the power
was rejected in Uganda for tourists that visit the services they want to enjoy in the park of consumption into the hands of the
national parks. ahead of the visit. consumer or user. The technology world
is giving the use such convenience so
The e-system has been rolled out to The bad news is – this particular e-booking that time and money are not wasted at
improve on the efficiency of accessing system was first introduced in Uganda the hands of inefficient officers of various
national parks. before the tourism fraternity shot it down. organizations.

The system that has been instituted by the Since several tour operators benefited from The UWA system enabled the tourist or
Rwanda Development Board (RDB) works as compromising the system, they fought the Tour Company to book ahead. The user
easy as going online, book and pay for the initiative that had been introduced by Dr could swipe their cards at the gates of the
service and days the tourist wants to spend Andrew Seguya, the innovative executive national park, lessening the time tourists
in the parks. director of Uganda Wildlife Authority. spend booking to access the park.
Now as Uganda tourism slept and fought

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ABOUT SOROTI UNIVERSITY PROGRAMMES TO BE OFFERED

Soroti University, the 9th Public University which was Soroti University is planned to be a Science and Technology-based
approved by the Parliament of Uganda and was gazetted University nesting on the principle of Vocationalisation of education.
on 16th July 2015 under statutory instrument 2015 No 34, The following Programmes which have already been developed shall be
Soroti University is established to train human resources launched in phases:
in Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, Engineering and
Science Teacher Education. The first student intake was Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
planned to be in July 2016 for Science and engineering BSc. Nursing
students as per previous work plans, however, due to BSc Biomedical Laboratory Science and Allied Health courses
unforeseen challenges, the dates for opening has been BSc. Biomedical Sciences
changed. Bachelor of Technology (Electrical, Electronics, Civil & Mechanical Eng)
B.Sc. Engineering Physics
Soroti University’s academic programmes have been BSc Computer Engineering
reviewed by the National Council for Higher Education BSc. Computer Science
(NCHE) as they await accreditation. The University is BSc. (Mathematics, Physics, Biology Chemistry & Economics)
envisaged to increase the country’s capacity to train BSc. with Education
the human resources in critical areas of development BSc. Accounting Finance and Computing
such industry, infrastructure development, oil and gas Bachelor in Pharmacy
exploration and processing and allied services. BSc. Multimedia Technology and Design

The vision and mission are of Soroti University are PLANNED ACADEMIC UNITS
respectively: “To be a renowned Centre of Academic
Excellence that nurtures Visionaries and Innovations for 1. School of Engineering and Applied Science
building healthier and prosperous societies” and “To be a The school shall be launched in FY 2017/18)
Fountain of knowledge and innovation that supports
2. School Medicine and Health Sciences
CONTACTS Contact Persons The school shall be launched in FY 2018 /19
Prof. J.R. Ikoja Odongo
Soroti University Taskforce: Mob: +256 773 295 294 / +256 3. School of Culinary and Gastronomic Sciences
P.O. Box 211, Soroti, Uganda 704 901 939 The school shall be launched in FY 2019/20
Telephone: +254 454 461 605 Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected] 4. School of Open and Distance Learning
Website: www.sun.ac.ug The school shall be launched in FY 2020/21

Available opportunities for partnership
These include; Central library, University guest house and conference
centre, Sports complex, Cafeteria, Key officialsʼ residences, Students
hostel, Road network of 36km and Waste management facilities.

Experience more on our
new flight to Bahrain

Thrice weekly as of August 17, 2017

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