MBALE – A plan to end colobus monkey poaching with synthetic ceremonial skins dominated cultural leader Jude Mike Mudoma’s speech, as Vice President Jesca Alupo pledged to deliver Mbale’s development demands to President Museveni during the launch of Uganda’s first regional wildlife centre.

Umukuuka: “No Animal Has to Die for Their Culture”

The Umukuuka of the Bamasaaba said the Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre “permanently shattered” a 70-year barrier that locked conservation education in Entebbe.

“For over seven decades, the treasures of conservation education were locked behind hundreds of kilometres of travel,” Mudoma said. “Today the barrier has been permanently shattered.”

He thanked UWA, singling out David Musingo, and credited the government’s “visionary leadership” for regional equity.

“By establishing this regional satellite wildlife education centre right here in Mbale, the government has brought the world of conservation to the doorstep of Eastern Uganda,” he said. “We are democratizing knowledge.”

“This centre will ensure the child of a peasant farmer in the foothills of Mount Elgon can walk into a world-class facility, look into the eyes of majestic wildlife, and understand their role in the ecosystem without needing a budget for a cross-country trip.”

Mudoma said Mbale’s city status, plus the new centre, transforms its tourism. “The hospitality and tourism landscape of Mbale City will never be the same again,” he said. “This facility adds a crucial missing layer — family tourism, educational tourism, and urban tourism.”

He predicted a ripple effect: “Hotels, guest houses, homestays will experience an influx on weekends from school children and international researchers. Restaurants, boda bodas, transport, and local tour guides will get jobs. Our youth and women who make crafts and cultural regalia will find a brand new, highly concentrated marketplace.”

“This centre is an economic engine masked by a wildlife subject,” Mudoma said. He urged the private sector to “upgrade your services, expand hotel capacity, build creative tour packages that link this centre to Mount Elgon National Park.”

VP Alupo: “Message Will Reach the President“

Responding, Vice President Jesca Alupo committed to escalating the Umukuuka’s service delivery requests.

“I appreciate the message presented by His Royal Highness and assure him that the service delivery components of your message will be delivered to the highest office — the office of His Excellency the President,” Alupo said.

“We, the leaders here, will commit to ensuring that the responses are disseminated to Bamasaaba.”

Alupo said the centre anchors tourism as one of four sectors to drive Uganda’s GDP to $500 billion. “Today we are here to assert one of the sectors, and that is tourism development,” she said.

She said the facility ends decades of exclusion. “Distance and cost have limited access for many Ugandans, particularly school-going children. This centre represents a deliberate effort to decentralise conservation education.”

Alupo urged cross-border use of the centre. “It would be so beautiful for them to just cross over with the children from Bungoma to this wildlife education centre. We shall speak to the Iteso, Jaluo, Kalenjin, Samia, Pokot and Turkana. This is our wildlife centre.”

She stressed wildlife as ‘an economic necessity’ and called on managers to source food locally so “the economic impact of this region is realised through this institution.”

Minister: “Tourism Depends on Conservation”

Tourism State Minister Suzan Nakawuki called the launch “a milestone in the development of Uganda’s tourism and conservation sectors.”

“I congratulate the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Board of Trustees, local leaders, and all stakeholders who contributed to this important facility,” she said.

Nakawuki said tourism is “one of the country’s key drivers of socio-economic transformation under the tenfold growth strategy championed by His Excellency the President.”

“Tourism creates jobs, generates foreign exchange, stimulates investments, supports local enterprises, and contributes to community livelihoods,” she said. “But tourism depends on conservation. Without wildlife, there is no wildlife tourism. Without public support, conservation cannot succeed.”

She said the centre delivers on the government’s promise to decentralise services. “The people of the Eastern region no longer have to travel all the way to Entebbe. That service has been brought close to the people.”

UWA: First Step to Decongest Entebbe

UWA Executive Director Dr James Musinguzi said the centre is the first step in a national plan to regionalise conservation education and decongest Entebbe Zoo.

“Entebbe Zoo has developed this centre, now ranked the best in East, Central, and West Africa,” Dr Musinguzi said. “For us to decongest the zoo in Entebbe, we came up with a strategic direction to regionalise conservation education centres in the country.”

Working with the National Forestry Authority, UWA secured land in Mbale, Gulu, and Kyenjojo. “This is the first of its kind since 1952, when Entebbe Zoo was formed. This is the second one in a region. After here, we are going to Gulu and Kyenjojo,” he said.

“When people get closer to these animals, they get connected. When they get connected, they understand the interrelationship between people, animals, plants, and ecosystems. Through that, they act to protect these animals.”

He said the centre is already creating jobs. “Farmers will supply food from their gardens, and that resonates with putting people in the money economy, as advocated for by our President.”

Culture Meets Conservation: Saving the Colobus

Mudoma said true conservation must align with culture. “In Bugisu Kingdom, our relationship with nature is deeply rooted in our tradition and identity. We do not just look at animals as biological specimens. We look at them as part of our cultural fabric.”

That brings urgency to saving the black-and-white colobus monkey, he said.

“This stunning primate that calls the Elgon zone home has become an endangered species due to habitat loss, climate challenges, and human-wildlife conflict,” Mudoma said. “It’s beautiful, flowing skin has been a sought-after component of our traditional Kadodi ceremony and cultural dances.”

“We are finding ourselves at a difficult crossroads: How do we protect our cultural heritage and celebrate our Kadodi tradition, while ensuring we do not drive a precious endangered species into extinction?”

“True leadership demands that we do not choose one over the other. Instead, we must innovate to save both.”

He announced a project to fabricate synthetic replicas of colobus skins.

“We have already designed and written a comprehensive project proposal seeking strategic and financial support to fabricate high-quality synthetic replicas of the colobus monkey skins. This is a game-changing solution,” he said.

“By manufacturing realistic, durable, and culturally respectful synthetic skins, we will eliminate the market for poaching live colobus monkeys, allowing the population in Mount Elgon to recover and thrive.”

“We will fully preserve, protect, and celebrate our cultural dances and ceremonies, ensuring our children can wear traditional regalia with pride, knowing that no animal has to die for their culture.”

Mudoma formally presented the vision to UWA and international partners, saying, “This proposal, designed here in Mbale, is a global blueprint for how modern conservation science can work hand in hand with African culture.”

The Mbale Wildlife Conservation Education Centre is now open to the public.

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