A deadline for encroachers at Mount Elgon National Park to leave the area has been moved from today, September 12th to September 28th.
The Mt. Elgon Chief Park Warden, Johnson Masereka, says the encroachers have been given two more weeks within which they will be expected to leave the park. He says the order affects all encroachers in the districts of Mbale, Sironko, Bududa, Kapchorwa, Manafwa, and Bukwo that are located within the Mt. Elgon National park area.
The Tourism, Trade and Industry Minister, Serapio Rukundo, has directed all relevant Resident District Commissioners and District Chairpersons to implement the deadline. He has also asked the district leaders to explain the importance of preserving the park and guarding it against human development./
Mount Elgon National Park was declared a forest reserve in 1938 and later gazetted as a national park in 1993. It is one of the national parks valued for its bio-diversity, tourism potential as well as for the eco-system services it provides for the neighboring communities.
