Kisoro leader asks govt to rename airstrip

The Kisoro District Chairman, Mr Abel Bizimana, has petitioned the Ministry of Works and Transport demanding the elevation of the Kisoro airstrip to airport status.

He also wants the airstrip renamed Gorilla Airport to market the mountain gorillas to the world.

More than half of the mountain gorillas in the world live in the Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks, which are in Kisoro District.

“Branding tourism products in Kisoro with the mountain gorilla, golden monkey and names of forests of Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Echuya has promoted tourism and marketed Kisoro District. Elevating Kisoro airstrip and renaming it Gorilla Airport shapes a better image for mountain gorilla tourism, not only in Uganda but the world in general,” Mr Bizimana said in his May 7 petition addressed to the Ministry of Works and Transport permanent secretary.

He added that constructing a monument of Winston Churchill at the Kanaba gap in Kisoro District where he pronounced Uganda as the Pearl of Africa would attract many tourists from the West because of his legacy as a former British statesman.

He made the remarks on Friday where he also appealed for a special fund to support different development activities in Kisoro .

He said the residents have suffered harsh climatic conditions that have resulted in regular mudslides that have destroyed crops, causing deaths.

He appealed to the government to deploy environmental experts to assess the cause of the 5km earth crack before a calamity happens as it was witnessed in Bududa District.

He explained that the special fund would facilitate the local authorities in restoring the environment and public infrastructure whose destruction he blamed on Congolese refugees fleeing armed conflict in their home country.

“Since 2021 to date, Congolese refugees have crossed into Kisoro District where they stay before being relocated to the settlement camps in western Uganda. During their stay, they cut down trees to construct temporary shelters and to get firewood. This has left the environment degraded thus exposing the area to possible calamities such as mudslides and other natural disasters,” Mr Bizimana said.

He also asked the Ministry of Works and Transport to construct an alternative road from Kabale to Kisoro since the Kabale-Kisoro-Bunagana-Chanika road is always characterised by mudslides that affect traffic flow, thus blocking tourists en route to mountain gorilla tracking in Bwindi and Mgahinga.

“Kisoro being the gateway to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda and given the persistent blocking of Kabale-Kisoro-Bunagana-Chyanika road by mudslides every rainy season, our district council proposes that the government constructs the Kisoro-Nteko-Buhoma road to serve as an alternative route to avoid traffic interference,” Mr Bizimana said.

He added that the proposed alternative route will also facilitate tourism, trade and security given the state of instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo.