As Uganda and the rest of the world marked the International
Museums Day on Friday—a day closely linked to the preservation of cultural
heritage, it emerged that encroachers are threatening one of this country’s
revered archeological relics. People have taken to cultivating crops and
quarrying on land belonging to Nyero Rock Paintings thus threatening the very
existence of this tourist site.
The rock paintings, located in Kumi District- eastern Uganda, is
an internationally recongised heritage site. It symbolises a unique history and
is said to have been home to the early Iron Age inhabitants of Teso sub-region
and bears imprints of the ancient people’s settlement. There are rock paintings
on three caves with drawings representing various things, all of which are now
being destroyed. It is unfortunate that the very people who should be
preserving this rare site are instead carrying out detrimental activities that
destroy it.
Though there have been efforts to save Nyero Rock Paintings in
the past-- three years ago, Kumi District Council passed a resolution banning
stone quarrying and cultivation at the surrounding of Nyero Rock Paintings-- it
is clear, from the ongoing human activity at the site, that the authorities
have failed to control the encroachers who are destroying a national treasure.
This story speaks a lot about our collective attitude as a
nation towards our heritage and general lack of interest in local tourism, a
sector that would, if promoted, give this country’s economy a huge boost. Even
the Uganda Museum, the centre to showcase our cultural heritage, is
under-funded and largely neglected.
In fact, plans are underway to demolish it (and move the
exhibitions to another place) to give way for the construction of a
multi-million dollar office block, a move conservationists are challenging.
How then do we ensure that our history does not disappear
completely? As part of the Ug@50 series to mark 50 years of Independence, this
newspaper is running, among other things, our cultural sites and historic places.
These are not just stories to feel newspaper pages; we are profiling our
history as part of a bigger effort to preserve these important sites.
We urge all Ugandans to play their part in preserving our
heritage: Government, local leaders and every citizen. Destroying our heritage
denies the future generation an opportunity to know this country’s unique
heritage.