By Shadrah Nambalirwa
US President Donald Trump has demanded that the Ugandan government does much more than just bragging about the safe return of Ms Sue Endicott Kimbley, the American national who was kidnapped last Tuesday as a tourist visiting Queen Elizabeth National Game Park. In one of his Monday twitter messages, Trump says the only way Uganda can avoid the reputation of being branded a very unsafe tourist destination is by President Museveni ensuring that those who kidnapped her are apprehended and brought to justice. Short of that, the US big man says Uganda will remain categorized unsafe for tourism activities. Kimbley was intercepted along with Jean Paul, a Uganda tour guide, by kidnappers who demanded Shs1.8bn in return for the duo’s freedom. But Trump’s skepticism runs counter to President Museveni who, using the same twitter platform, assured the world that Uganda remains one of the safest tourism destinations. The Ugandan big man maintains the Kimbley kidnap was just an isolated incidence that shouldn’t worry anybody. Whereas Museveni, as expected, used courteous persuasive language, his protégé Ofwono Opondo hasn’t been that polite in his twitter rejoinder to Trump. Renowned for taking no prisoners in his approach to complex situations, Opondo indifferently mocks Trump by saying that Uganda is way much safer than United States which he says remains an attractive destination to many people even when a higher number of people die there daily than happens in Uganda. The BBC says Trump being Trump, the cyber exchange between him and the Ugandan leadership won’t be ending soon unless Museveni acts swiftly and reins in the Uganda Media Center Director Ofwono Opondo before matters escalate to levels that might not be easy to deescalate. Renowned for very strange twists, media consultant Tamale Mirundi (also former Museveni Press Secretary) says the Kimbley kidnap was orchestrated by money-seeking mafia group members in order to weaken Museveni who has lately been publicly bragging about the possibility of growing annual tourism receipts as a major source of the much needed foreign exchange. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
