Elephant kills tourist in Murchison Falls National Park

At least one person was killed by an elephant in Murchison Falls National Park on Tuesday, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) confirmed.

According to a statement released by UWA dated January 25, 2022, the deceased was identified as Sayed Elsahany, a Saudi Arabian national, who was with three colleagues, traveling in a Toyota Wish motor vehicle no. UBJ917C.

“They were travelling from Masindi transiting through the park to Arua. They stopped along the way and the deceased went out of the car, an elephant charged at him, killing him on the spot,” UWA said in a statement.

A herd of elephants charged at them and the deceased, who had moved further away from the vehicle, was unable to return.

The wildlife authorities said that they were saddened by the incident and conveyed sympathies to the family if the deceased and friends.

According to UWA, the incident was reported to Pakwach Police and they said that they will work closely with the police to ensure that they investigate the death fully.

UWA appealed to the public to avoid putting themselves in danger while transiting through gazetted areas.

“The safety of people in our protected areas remains paramount to us. We therefore appeal to the public especially those transiting through protected areas to take precaution and avoid putting themselves in harm’s way,” UWA said.

They said that all national parks in Uganda remain safe and that the officials are reviewing safety protocols in order to avoid a repeat of such incidents.