Government Announces the Temporary Closure of the Uganda National Museum
The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (MoTWA) has announced the temporary closure of the Uganda National Museum for a period of 10 months. This was announced on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. The Uganda National Museum is one of the best places to visit if looking for an in depth experience of the history of Uganda and Ugandans. The Uganda National Museum is a historical landmark and has over the years welcomed researchers, tourists and culture enthusiasts from Uganda and across the world.
The Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities announced that the reason for temporary closure is to allow civil works to be undertaken to refurbish, restore and modernize the facility. This was the statement by the Ministry concerning the temporary closure – “The Government of Uganda with financing from the World Bank under the Additional Financing for the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP-AF) is applying part of the proceeds to among others undertake the cataloging, digitizing, training and restoration/rehabilitation/renovation of the Uganda National Museum to international standards.” The Ministry went ahead to communicate that the facility will be closed and out of bounds from August 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025.
Uganda National Museum
Visitors on safari in Uganda are always looking for cultural and historical sites to visit or add to their itinerary and the Uganda National Museum has been a top site to visit. However the temporary closure does not mean that they will lack places to experience the history and culture of Uganda as Uganda has quite a number of other cultural sites to visit. Other historical and cultural sites that are open and welcoming visitors include Nyero Rock Paintings in Kumi, Kibiro Hot Salt village, Sir Samuel Baker (Patiko) Fort in Gulu, Dolwe Island Rock Painting sites, Bigo Bya Mugyenvi in Sembabule, Kibiro Hot Salt Village and Emin Pasha Site in Wedelai. All these sites are open and an expert Ugandan based tour operator can arrange tours to visit the historical and cultural sites.
The news of the temporary closure of the Ugandan National Museum for civil works that include renovation and rehabilitation comes as great news for Ugandans and historical/cultural enthusiasts as after the 10 months, it’s expected that the facility will be much better and up to standard.
A glimpse into the Uganda National Museum
The Uganda National Museum located in Kampala is the oldest museum in East Africa and was established by the British protectorate government in 1908 with ethnographic material. The museum exhibits the traditional life collections of Ugandans with displays of their cultural wear, the hunting tools that they previously used, their houses and musical instruments. The national museum displays and exhibits the geographical elements of Uganda like the types of rocks and soil in the country. The Uganda National Museum had also recently introduced a tourism section with details on wildlife and gorilla trekking in Uganda as well as national parks. Uganda is home to the mountain gorillas that can be trekked in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Uganda is one of the best places in the world to see the mountain gorillas. With the temporary closure of the national museum for civil works Ugandans and visitors can look forward to a much better historical and cultural site.
