Murchisons Falls NP golf course project – not again surely …
CONTROVERSIAL GOLF COURSE PROJECT BACK IN THE NEWS When presiding over the passing out of over 400 new Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers last week, President Museveni again let fly over his disappointment, if not outright anger, for having been defied in the past by UWA, NEAM and the conservation fraternity at large, to give permission […]
Travelport sets up shop directly in Nairobi
TRAVELPORT SETS UP DIRECT OFFICES IN KENYA Travelport Africa has announced that they will commence direct operations in Kenya and have appointed Mr. Rajab Itambo as General Manager Kenya. He joins the company from Kenya Airways where he has been working on the Travelport assignment since 2008. The past partnership with Kenya Airways, which had […]
Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Second edition April 2013
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome You can get your daily news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome or join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’. Read […]
19 years and counting – the Rwandan genocide of 1994 must never be forgotten
19 YEARS ON BUT THE GENOCIDE REMAINS ONE OF EAST AFRICA’S DARKEST PERIODS Today, 19 years ago, then Rwanda’s President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane was shot down as it came in to land from a crucial meeting in Arusha, where he had reportedly made major concessions in the talks with the RPF. Now known as a […]
Lake Turkana Festival ‘ante portas’
TURKANA FESTIVAL 2013 ANTE PORTAS One of Kenya’s great cultural festivals, the Lake Turkana Festival, will this year take place in Loiyangalani between the 24th and 26th of May, showcasing the culture and art of 10 communities living near and around the ‘Jade Lake’ as Turkana is often referred to as a result of the […]
KTB asks for half a billion Shillings to start recovery marketing
KENYA TOURISM BOARD ASKS NEW GOVERNMENT FOR AN EXTRA 500 MILLION SHILLINGS Sources in Nairobi have confirmed that KTB is seeking an additional 500 million Kenya Shillings to fund a series of ‘recovery missions’ aimed to restore market confidence, now that the elections are over and a new government will be coming into effect following […]
Kenya Airways adds more Kisumu flights
KENYA AIRWAYS ADDS KISUMU FLIGHTS Kenya Airways has confirmed that they will with immediate effect up their number of weekly flights between Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Kisumu from presently 25 to 34. At the same time was seat capacity increased by operating the larger Embraer 190, from the E170 previously used, making Kisumu […]
Climate change, a clear and present danger to the world’s island nations
AFTER HOTTEST MARCH IN HISTORY WHAT’S NEXT FOR SEYCHELLES AND NEIGHBOURS The month of March was, according to one regular source on the main island of Mahe, the warmest March in known history with two days, 29th and 30th recording the third highest temperature ever recorded by weather stations of the archipelago with 33.7 degrees […]
Torrential rains cause havoc in parts of East Africa
RAINS HIT THE REGION WITH A VENGEANCE Following the devastating rainstorms which lashed Mauritius last Friday are now also reports coming in from across East Africa of loss of property and lives caused by torrential rains. Last week road links to and from Ngorongoro and the Serengeti were cut near Karatu when a river burst […]
Seychelles President James Alix Michel extends condolences to Mauritius
Following reports, posted here too as breaking news, over the weekend of devastating rainstorms causing widespread destruction and loss of live and property on the island of Mauritius has the Seychelles’ President sent a message of condolences and solidarity to the fellow Vanilla Island country. PRESIDENT JAMES ALIX MICHEL EXTENDS MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY TO MAURITIUS […]
National airline returns to Ugandan skies
UGANDA AIRLINES TO BE REVIVED WITH BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT April 01st 2013 Information was passed to this correspondent overnight that the Ugandan government, reportedly unsettled over the success story made by airlines in neighbouring countries, has decided to revive Uganda Airlines with a big bang, setting aside over a billion US Dollars from anticipated future […]
Torrential rains pound Mauritius among reports of up to 8 dead
TORRENTIAL RAINS CAUSE CHAOS ON MAURITIUS AND CLAIM AT LEAST 8 LIVES Reports coming in from Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius, speak of devastating rains sweeping across the island, causing deaths and widespread destruction, besides being the reason for multiple accidents, some causing serious injuries to drivers and passenger, one of them involving […]
EAWST responds to Born Free Foundation allegations
As promised, after giving BFF the opportunity to voice their issues over the Whale Shark Project at Mombasa’s south coast, here is an initial response by Volker Bassen to counter some of these allegations, with undoubtedly more to follow. Readers can and should make up their mind based on facts and NOT on mere allegations […]
UHOA gets new Executive Director after Sekandi retires from position
UGANDA HOTEL OWNERS ASSOCIATION GETS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Long serving Executive Director of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association, Mr. Ishmael Sekandi, has stepped down and was last Tuesday formally replaced by Mr. Sam Balagadde, introduced to invited guests by the chairman of UHOA, Mr. Ibrahim Muwanga Kibirige, owner of the Hotel Africana in Kampala. Sekandi, […]
Kenya’s Supreme Court declares presidential election results as valid
KENYA’S TOURISM GURUS RELIEVED OVER SUPREME COURT RULING Kenya’s tourism industry was swift to welcome the decision of the Supreme Court, which delivered the verdict of ‘Validly elected’ while turning down the applications of the petitioners to overturn the declaration of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, which had named Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto […]
Hell’s Gate National Park claims two more lives
HELL’S GATE NATIONAL PARK CLAIMS TWO MORE VICTIMS Hell’s Gate National Park, one of Kenya’s most popular parks for adventure tourism and hiking, has once again lived up to its name as two more Kenyans on a weekend hike up Mt. Longonot lost their lives. Last year it was a team of church youths on […]
Happy Easter Holidays – (Early) Weekly roundup of news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands, First edition April 2013
AVIATION, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION NEWS from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. A weekly roundup of breaking news, reports, travel stories and opinions by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome You can get your daily breaking news updates instantly via Twitter by following @whthome, join me on www.facebook.com/WolfgangHThome where the articles also ‘cross load’ or […]
AURIC Air announces more scheduled destinations across Tanzania’s parks and islands
AURIC AIR ADDS MORE SCHEDULED SERVICES TO PARKS AND ISLANDS AURIC Air has announced that they will significantly increase their scheduled flights across Tanzania from June onwards to include services to various islands off the mainland but also to more national parks, pushing overall destinations to 18 in every corner of the country. The airline, […]
RwandAir announces Douala and Juba as their next destinations
RWANDAIR SET FOR JUBA AND DOUALA LAUNCH After already announcing Accra as their next destination in their current inflight magazine INZOZI, has RwandAir, the national carrier of Rwanda and one of Africa’s fastest growing airlines, now announced the launch of direct flights from Kigali to two additional new destinations. Douala and Juba will be joining […]
Kenya Airways launching Abu Dhabi flights on July 01
KENYA AIRWAYS PREPARES TO LAUNCH ABU DHABI FLIGHTS IN JULY Kenya Airways has now confirmed that they will commence flights to Abu Dhabi, initially three times a week, using a two class B737-800NG. KQ 316 will be leaving at 19.25 hrs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to reach Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United […]
Mwazo’s departure brings new hope to Kenya’s tourism industry
‘I DID MY BEST’ SAYS MWAZO AS HE LEAVES TOURISM ‘And your best was not good enough, not nearly good enough’ roared a regular source from Nairobi’s tourism circles back via an email to this correspondent, commenting on the final press conference held by hapless tourism minister Dan Mwazo, who never could fill the shoes […]
Flooding of key road impacts on safaris to the Northern circuit in Tanzania
TORRENTIAL RAINS IMPACT ON SAFARIS ACROSS TANZANIA’S NORTHERN CIRCUIT Reports reaching from Arusha speak of torrential rains cutting a vital road link to the Northern safari circuit near the town of Karatu, where the Kirurumo River flooded, broke its banks and severely damaged a bridge, effectively disrupting road traffic for residents and tourists. The main […]
Raid on Malindi casino leaves at least 6 thugs dead
MASS ATTACK ON MALINDI CASINO LEAVES 8 DEAD, SEVERAL INJURED Suspected members of the banned MRC, a coastal terrorist group seeking to break away from the Republic of Kenya and form their own radical Islamic state, attacked an Italian owned casino last night in the wee hours. According to a source in Malindi were six […]
Akagera gets new visitor centre
NEW TENTED CAMP AND VISITOR CENTRE OPENS IN AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK African Parks has now formally opened a new visitor centre in the heart of the Akagera National Park, which they manage in a joint venture with the Rwanda Development Board’s Tourism and Conservation Department. Located along the 7 tent Rusizi Safari Lodge the new […]
Seychelles CAA hosts NAFISAT meeting
SEYCHELLES HOSTS AFRICAN AIR NAVIGATION MEETING The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority co-hosted, for the first time ever, a meeting of NAFISAT, short for Northern Africa and Indian Ocean communications by Satellite grouping, which brings together a number of countries from Africa and the Middle East. Representatives from Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Libya, Saudi Arabia, […]
FastJet manager of UK origin in court over allegedly abusing Tanzanian employee
FASTJET SENIOR MANAGER IN COURT OVER ABUSIVE LANGUAGE Information received from a regular aviation source in Dar es Salaam speaks of more woes on the ground for FastJet when one of their managers was arrested and produced in court over the alleged use of abusive language against a Tanzanian employee. UK citizen Emma Donovan, Manager […]
Kenyans react with anger over latest US Embassy anti travel advisory
KENYANS RESPONSE TO NEW US ANTI TRAVEL ADVISORY CAME SWIFT AND BRUTAL The reaction to the latest anti travel advisory by the US mission in Nairobi, advising their nationals to exercise maximum care and caution ahead of the expected ruling of the Supreme Court about the election petition swiftly brought about reactions, and being known […]
Controversy over whale shark project at Kenya coast has Born Free Foundation wade into the fray
Periodically I re-post articles and contributions, relevant to past topics or making more facts available about present issues.The Born Free Foundation has asked for their statement on a proposed whale tourism project to be published, and it is in the interest of readers to make all available information available on this project, which has now […]
RwandAir expects their two new B737-700NG’s to arrive the week after Easter
RWANDAIR PREPARES FOR BOEING FLEET UPGRADE Usually well informed sources from Kigali have confirmed that the replacements for the two B737-500 aircraft on lease to RwandAir will start arriving in Rwanda within the space of the next two weeks already. The two ageing Boeings will be substituted by two relatively new B737-700NG, coming from European […]
Rwanda exploiting ‘green’ geothermal energy sources
RWANDA SET FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY Rwanda’s EnergyWater and Sanitation Authority has confirmed that drilling on the southern slope of the Karisimbi volcano near Musanze will start in mid April, setting the stage to begin exploiting sustainable energy sources through heat exchangers. Fast economic growth and a progressive rollout of access to electricity into the rural […]
