Car hire Uganda - Safety and Security

Book car rentals in Uganda now!

Safety and Security

SAFETY AND SECURITY: U.S. citizens living in or planning to visit Uganda should be aware of threats to their safety from insurgent groups, particularly in the northern region near the border with Sudan, along the western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the southwest near the border with Rwanda. Insurgent groups have at times specifically targeted U.S. citizens. They have engaged in murder, armed attacks, kidnapping, and the placement of land mines. Although isolated, incidents occur with little or no warning. Armed banditry is common in the Karamoja region in northeastern Uganda.

Due to potential security concerns, U.S. government employees must have permission from the Chief of Mission to visit the following districts: Soroti, Kaberamaido, Katakwi, Kotido, Moroto, Nakapiritpiriti, Apac, Lira, Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Arua, Nebbi, Kisoro, Kanungu, Yumbe, Moyo, Adjumani, and Bundibugyo. The above-named districts include all or part of several national parks. Tourists contemplating travel in any of these districts are advised to seek the latest security information from Ugandan authorities, tour operators, and the U.S. Embassy.

Due to the recent movement of elements of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) into Soroti, Kaberamaido and Katakwi Districts in Uganda, and the level of violence associated with these incursions, the Embassy strongly recommends against travel to these districts. Americans resident in these areas should review whether the LRA threats are grounds for temporarily leaving the area.

The Government of Uganda has taken significant steps to improve security in national parks in recent years. The Ugandan army, charged with the safety and welfare of travelers, accompanies tourists on gorilla tracking visits and has greatly increased its presence in the parks. However, there are security concerns associated with pre-dawn and nighttime driving if accommodations are located far away from the gorilla parks. In addition to the general risk of higher accident rates, pre-dawn and nighttime driving also increases the risk of banditry.

The U.S. Embassy recommends against travel to Murchison Falls National Park due to continued activity by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in and around the park. Americans should avoid all road travel in Gulu and Kitgum districts, where the park is located. Prior activity in Murchison Falls National Park in 2001 included at least one incursion into the northern part of the park, when a number of Ugandan tourists were killed.

Rwenzori National Park, on the western border with Congo, was reopened by the Ugandan Government in 2001 in response to decreased rebel activity on the eastern slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains and environs. However, continuing instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo and parts of northern Rwanda make parks in the western border area of Uganda potentially vulnerable to incursion by rebel and vigilante groups operating in Congo and Rwanda.

The U.S. Embassy recommends that visitors seek up-to-date security information from park authorities before entering Mgahinga National Park and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, both in the southwestern corner of Uganda, due to sporadic rebel activity across the Congo/Rwanda border. Rwandan rebel factions with anti-Western and anti-American ideologies are known to operate in areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo that border Uganda. One such rebel group is believed to be responsible for the March 1999 kidnapping and murder of two American and six other tourists in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in western Uganda, as well as the August 1998 abduction of three tourists in a Democratic Republic of Congo national park contiguous with Uganda's Mgahinga National Park.

There have been periodic bomb attacks at various public places in Kampala, most recently in March 2001, when three bombs were detonated. As a general rule, U.S. citizens in Kampala should exercise caution and be alert when visiting both indoor and outdoor public facilities such as bars, restaurants, hotels, and markets, as well as when using local and inter-city public van service ("matatus") and larger buses.