By KT Reporter
Rubanda District LC.5 Chairman Ampeire Stephen Kasyaba has issued a stern warning to Kigezi-based Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) against exploiting the Batwa community as mere tourist attractions. While addressing the 2026/2027 District Budget Conference, Kasyaba expressed concern that some NGOs operating in Batwa-inhabited areas were taking advantage of this marginalized tribe.
“It is quite unfortunate that these NGOs are parading human beings before tourists as money-making items. As a district, we strongly condemn this practice,” he stated. He further criticized NGOs for encouraging tourists to “come and see how the Batwa look like,” describing it as a cruel exploitation of the minority group’s historical challenges.Kasyaba urged NGOs to focus on promoting Batwa culture and supporting them in commercializing their art and craft products rather than exploiting their vulnerability.
In an interview, Amos Tugumisirize, Executive Director of Kabale District Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living with HIV/AIDS (KADOLHA), confirmed that some NGOs were indeed using the Batwa as tourist attractions. He explained that these NGOs often parade Batwa community members to dance for visitors, providing minimal food and drinks in return.
“It is true, the Batwa are paraded for tourists and given a little food and drinks, which in most cases is not enough. They are made to perform, sometimes waiting all in vain,” Tugumisirize said. He attributed the practice to persistent poverty among the Batwa, forcing many into begging and dancing for food.
“They don’t have sufficient land, and even the little land they have is not fertile. As a result, they have resorted to begging and dancing for tourists, which is killing their future,” he added.
About the Batwa
The Batwa are traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers who once roamed forest areas across present-day Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over the centuries, they were pushed into smaller forest regions by other farming communities.
In 1991, the Government of Uganda gazetted Bwindi, Mgahinga, and Ecyua forests in Rubanda, Kisoro, and Kanungu districts as conservation areas, forcing the Batwa to live on the outskirts of national parks. While some received land from charitable organizations, they do not hold formal land titles and often work their neighbors’ fields for minimal income.
Meanwhile, tourists visit the region with government permits costing up to $600 to see mountain gorillas, highlighting the ongoing economic disparities faced by the Batwa. Today, the Batwa population in Uganda is estimated at 6,000, with 470 in Kigezi. Their continued marginalization underscores the urgent need for policies and interventions that empower them economically and socially.
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