Okello Pacuto, chairman of the Pasha Fort Committee, is standing in the middle of the former slave holding-post at Fort Wadelai in Nebbi district, now a garden of cassava. 

“This is the site where the Arabs held the slaves they had captured from the interior before shipping them to Egypt via the River Nile,” says Pacuto.

To counter the slave trade in northern Uganda and Southern Sudan at the pre-colonial era, several military forts were established in this region.

Wadelai fort was built in 1885 when the area was part of Sudan. Fort Wadelai is a fishing village located in Wadelai sub county on the banks of the Albert Nile. The fort has now been marked for development to promote cultural tourism in northern Uganda.
The Egyptians, Turkish and Americans have shown interest in developing the 15-acre fort, which also requires fencing for better protection.

To preserve Wadelai’s historical features and to develop the fort into a community cultural tourism site, the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany funded the “Emin Pasha historical fort preservation and Development project,” which has been implemented by the Department of Museums and Monuments. 

To maintain the site’s historical features and also make them accessible, a visitor information centre has been built and historical features have been made visible. 

“The opening is not only an important contribution to the preservation of historical features in this area and the explanation of the site’s history, which is not known to many outside the region but is also a wonderful example of the cultural exchange and co-operation going on between Germany and Uganda,” German ambassador to Uganda, Klaus Dieter Duexmann said.

“We plan to construct camping facilities for tourists and come up with boat rides from Wadelai to Murchison Falls and vice versa. This means that tourists will no longer access the fort via Pakwach by road,” said Rose Mwanja, commissioner for museums and monuments in the Ministry of Tourism.

According to Pacuto, the fort receives the highest number of tourists during the September-December peak season every year.

“We receive over 100 foreign tourists each year. With guest houses and boat rides we hope the numbers will grow,” said Pacuto.

Visitors from outside West Nile region each part with Ushs20,000 ($7.2) to enter the facility. Those from within the region pay Ushs10,000 ($3.6) to tour Fort Wadelai. Those from Nebbi district pay Ushs5,000 ($1.8), while Wadelai residents and students from West Nile pay Ushs1,000 ($0.36).

Vice chairman of Pasha Fort Committee Nicholas Akera said: “The surrounding ditches are losing their shape every passing day because of rain. We lack the manpower to clear the over grown bushes around the fort.”

A monument has been built at the fort to act as a testimony to the slave trade in the region. The inscription on the concrete six feet-high obelisk reads: “Wadelai Egyptian Station 1879-89: Headquarters of Equatoria under Emin Pasha.”

Pointing to the obelisk, 74-year-old Akera said: “Pasha was sent here to fight slavery. When he arrived in the area, he first went to Fort Patiko where he met Sir Samuel Baker, who advised him to come to Wadelai. Pasha later met Chief Kwinyo, whose chieftaincy was on the eastern side of the Nile (now Amuru district).”

“This was a major slave trade route in this region. Slaves were captured from among the Alur, Lendu, Kebo and Lugbara people. They were then taken to Egypt and finally to other slave markets around the world,” Akera said.

The Paramount Chief (Rwoth) of the Ker Panyimur Kwonga in Nebbi district Charles Okumu Ombidi III, described the slave trade as a sad a practice that ran counter to traditional values.

“You cannot force someone to work for you under slavery conditions. Our cultural values, norms and practices do not permit slavery,” Ombidi said.

Wadelai sub county Chief, Brown Ouma said: “The importance of this site is it is a tourist attraction. We therefore want to maintain it to generate revenue for our Sub County.”

“It an important site because this is where the Arab slave traders were stationed after capturing slaves from the interior, whom they then transported to Egypt via the River Nile,” Ouma added.

According to Ombidi, local rivalries and simple greed also helped the trade: “Some chiefs wanted to enlarge their chiefdoms so they needed to acquire modern ammunition in exchange for slaves. They mainly captured and sold their enemies, in the process depopulating our area.”

“Of course, people lost their lives; people were torn from their families and tribes, and taken away to faraway lands,” Ouma said.

“The local chiefs needed guns to keep power. It was prestigious to own cloth and beads, so they had to trade in slaves in return for these foreign goods,” Pacuto noted.