Zakayo Legacy: UWEC to construct museum

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Wildlife Education Center – UWEC plans to construct a resource center and memorial monument in remembrance of Zakayo, the late celebrity Chimpanzee.

Zakayo died in November 2018 at UWEC where it had stayed since June 1976 after it was handed over by whites who found it abandoned in Ssemiliki National Park in Bundibugyo 1964.

At that time the Chimpanzee was becoming aggressive and difficult to manage.

James Musinguzi, the Managing Director of the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, says they intend to construct a monument and a museum, rich with information on conservation and biodiversity in memory of Zakayo.

David Musingo, the Manager Education and Information at Uganda Wildlife Education Center,  believes the museum will play a vital role in disseminating information on conservation.

Musinguzi says well as Zakayo died a year ago, UWEC has continued to innovate further brands to attract more tourists into to the center.

These include aggressive marketing of the remaining species at UWEC and the re-introduction of regional satellite zoos to enable people from distant areas in the North, East and Western regions have easy access to wildlife education centers.

Musinguzi says, such innovations have led to an increase of visitors to Wildlife education centers in the country to 365,000 in 2018 up from 328,000 people in 2017.

He now calls upon all people in the country to increasingly support the tourism and wildlife industries as a way of increasing the country’s revenue.

The Uganda Tourism board estimates that the country generated about Shillings 5.5 trillion from tourism in 2018.

The former UTB Chief Executive Officer, Steven Asiimwe, says the growth in the amount of money raised from tourism is a result of increased conservation of wildlife, which constitutes 70% of Uganda’s tourism earnings.

Currently, Uganda Wildlife Education Center has seven chimpanzees and several other wildlife species.

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