History of Queen Elizabeth National Park – Once upon a time, Queen Elizabeth National Park was home to the Basongora pastoralists, who used the area for grazing their cattle. This changed after the arrival of H.M. Stanley and Captain F.D. Lugard, who reported that the area had become empty. This was mainly due to cattle raids by people from Bunyoro and Buganda, as well as diseases like smallpox and rinderpest, which made it hard for people to stay there.
Some Basongora people turned to fishing to earn a living, and others left the area due to land pressure. As more people moved away, wildlife and plants were able to grow freely.
Because of the growing number of animals and natural beauty, the area north of Lake George was declared a game reserve in 1906. This was done to stop uncontrolled hunting by both Africans and Europeans. There was also growing interest in farming cotton and wheat in the region.
To protect more land for wildlife, the areas around Lake George and Ishasha were made restricted zones in 1912. Farming and fishing were moved to areas outside the park. However, the spread of sleeping sickness continued through the 1930s. This led to a new law passed on 31 March 1952, which officially created Kazinga National Park later that year. This followed strong efforts by the chief game warden at the time, Bruce Kinloch, and the Governor.
The new park included Lake George and Lake Edward game reserves. In 1954, it was renamed Queen Elizabeth National Park after the visit of Queen Elizabeth II. The remaining grazing rights of the Basongora herders were removed, and many of them moved with their animals to the Virunga National Park across the border.
Some reports say that the Basongora returned in 1964 during the Mulele Rebellion, which caused conflict in the area. Again in 2006, they were forced to flee from the Democratic Republic of Congo and moved into the park near the north of Lake Edward with their cattle. Their animals were often attacked by predators, and because the government did not give them compensation, some of them became angry and killed many wild animals in revenge.
Queen Elizabeth National Park has a long and interesting history that is worth learning about.
