British tourist shot dead in Uganda safari ‘ambush’

UK holidaymaker and new wife killed in ‘cowardly’ attack while on honeymoon along with local guide

The four-wheel-drive vehicle the trio was travelling in was found still on fire in the national park, with flames and plumes of smoke seen billowing off its bonnet in a picture Uganda’s police posted on its X account (Uganda Police Force)

A British tourist and his new wife have been shot dead in an “ambush” at a Ugandan safari park while on their honeymoon.

Police in Uganda said two foreign holidaymakers were touring the Queen Elizabeth National Park in the southwest of the country with their local guide when the trio were gunned down in a “cowardly” attack on Tuesday evening.

The British man and South African woman, who have both not yet been named, have been revealed to be a newlywed couple who were on their honeymoon, while their Ugandan driver has been named locally as Eric Alyai.

The four-wheel-drive vehicle the trio was travelling in was found still on fire in the national park, with flames and plumes of smoke seen billowing off its bonnet in a picture Uganda’s police posted on its X account.

Ivan Wassaaka, co-owner of Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris, the company that ran the tour, told The Independent the trio’s vehicle was “ambushed” between 6pm and 7pm, local time.

Paying tribute to his employee, Mr Wassaaka said, “It is so sad. He’s very nice, liked by all clients, very knowledgeable – but sadly he’s gone. It’s a very sad day for us.”

In a statement released on X on Wednesday, President Yoweri Museveni described the attack as a “cowardly act on the part of the terrorists attacking innocent civilians and tragic for the couple who were newlyweds and visiting Uganda on their honeymoon”.

He vowed that Ugandan forces would track down those responsible for the deaths, saying the terrorists "will pay with their own wretched lives”.

Ugandan police pledged to “aggressively pursue” the assailants, blaming the attack on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a shadowy rebel outfit with ties to the Islamic State group. Museveni asserted the ADF's responsibility, urging security agencies to ensure the group "is wiped out”.

Uganda Police spokesman Fred Enanga wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "We have registered a cowardly terrorist attack on two foreign tourists and a Ugandan in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The three were killed, and their safari vehicle burnt.

"Our joint forces responded immediately upon receiving the information and are aggressively pursuing the suspected ADF rebels. We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims."

The ADF, which began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo since the late 1990s, pledged allegiance to Islamic State four years ago.

After operating primarily in Congo for years, it has stepped up attacks inside Uganda in recent months, including a raid in June on a secondary school that killed more than 40 people.

The ADF has long opposed the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a US security ally who has held power in the East African country since 1986.

Uganda and Congo launched a joint ground and air operation against the ADF in December 2021 in an effort to eliminate them from eastern Congo.

Uganda says it has succeeded in killing more than 560 fighters and destroyed their camps, but Museveni on Wednesday acknowledged "gaps" in how the security services had dealt with "remnants" of the group that continue to pose a threat.

Attacks within and around national parks are rare in Uganda, with specialist police units deployed there. Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of the country’s most popular conservation areas, is located in a remote area of southwestern Uganda near the Congo border.

According to the Ugandan President, “a small group of terrorists running away from our operations in Congo” attacked the tourist vehicle.

The Bridgeway Foundation, a US-based think-tank that studies the ADF, noted in a brief analysis that the attack occurred about 20 km (12 miles) from the Congo border, far deeper into Ugandan territory than previous raids.

Following the incident, the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated its travel advice for Uganda, warning against “all but essential travel” to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

A statement on its website said: “If you are currently in the Park, you should follow the advice of local security authorities. If you are able to do so safely, you should consider leaving the area.”

The Independent has approached the British High Commission Kampala for comment.