Equator monument in Queen Elizabeth National Park to be removed

The Equator monument at Kikorongoro, in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kasese District will be broken down to pave way for road reconstruction.

The Katunguru-Hima Road, according to Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) had cracked down due to heavy loading.

“The equator monument stands in the dimensions of this road, will therefore be pulled down Tuesday, February 19, 2019, temporarily y. for a period of six months after which it shall be reconstructed in new design that will include a bigger landscape with extended parking for tourists,” a statement from the ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities reads in part.

The same monument caused a great stir on social media last year when a vehicle crashed it.

The police, then, tracked down the said truck driver of the car who promised to have it reconstructed.

“Without any supervision, he brought masons and they reconstructed it, but with no professionalism and ended up erecting an ‘egg-shape’ ring quite different from the original,” a social media critic wrote.

Many critics called for its demolition, because according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) Deputy Director of Field Operations, Mr Charles Tumwesigye, it was giving both the park and Uganda in general, a bad image.
“I could not stand such a poorly done structure of touristic importance in the park,” Tumwesigye is quoted as saying.

Now, according to the permanent secretary ministry of tourism, Doreen S Katusiime, the new remodeled monument at Kikorongoro will be the model design for all equator monuments in Uganda including the one already standing at Kayabwe, Masaka district and three yet to be constructed in the district of Kazo, Sembabule and Entebbe where the imaginary line of the equator touches the land.

No details about the new model were given.