UGANDA: Tour Operator Arrested After Failing Or Refusing To Refund Money To A Dutch Tourist

A tour operator in Kabale town has been arrested on fraud charges after he allegedly failed to refund $27,000 erroneously sent to his account by a Dutch tourist for a gorilla trekking trip.

Mr Didan Atukunda from Mamba Gorilla Safari was arrested on Saturday in Kabale town in Western Uganda by Tourism police led by the Kigezi regional commandant, ASP Emmanuel Tinka.

Ms Sandra Natukunda, the senior public relations officer, Uganda Tourism Board said Mr Peter Nickilin from the Netherlands erroneously paid $30,000 instead of $3,000 for a trip to trek Gorillas in October last year but Mr Atukunda declined to make the $27,000 refund; forcing the tourist to contact the Uganda Tourism Board.

Prior attempts by UTB to discuss and agree to a payment plan between Mr Atukunda and the tourist proved futile after he refunded only $12,000 leading to the involvement of Tourism Police in a crackdown for Mr Atukunda's arrest.

UTB has been struggling with a challenge of tourism crime as the country eyes more earnings from the sector.

However, Ms Natukunda says the tourism board through its quality assurance department is taking strong interventions to curb crime in the sector.

According to the UTB, Quality Assurance Manager Mr Samora Semakula, UTB has set up a tourism security committee consisting of Tourism Police, MTWA and representation from the Association of Uganda Tour Operators with the let aim of tactfully handling fraud and any cases reported by tourists.

Tourism is Uganda's number one foreign exchange earner. We can not continue to let rogue operators destabilise the growth that we are seeing in the sector.

Most importantly we want tourists to enjoy their stay in Uganda. Our role is to ensure quality standards are met in the sector, Mr Semakula said.

Atukunda is the second suspected rogue tour operator to be arrested since this year started.

In a separate operation, Tourism Police and UTB arrested Mr Mugerwa Ahebwa who allegedly defrauded American tourists of over $18,000. He is currently detained at Jinja Road police station awaiting to be arraigned in court.

In November last year, over 23 people booked tickets to fly outside Uganda but later realised their tickets were all fake when they got to the airport.

There was a similar case of a Jinja-based travel agent who booked but did not issue tickets to a US family worth $6000.

The tourism industry currently contributes 10 per cent to gross domestic product, making it Uganda’s leading foreign exchange earner.

The industry contributes more than $1.4b annually and is projected to earn about $2.7b by 2020, according to figures from Uganda Tourism Board.


Tourism Observer