Tell whole truth on Amboni, govt urged

In Summary

• A safaris operator says speculation could impact negatively on tourism and even ordinary people’s routine activities
• A tourism stakeholder says reports of heavy deployment of security forces in the area are disturbing for they could confirm fears that a terrorist group was behind the siege as claimed in social media

Arusha.The public should be told the truth about last weekend’s siege at the Amboni caves near Tanga in order to end the spiralling speculation on the current security scare in the coastal city.

“The government could be letting us down if we are not informed on whether that was a terrorist attack or not”, said  Mr Shoo Albess Shoo, the group CEO of the Arusha-based SkyGroup.

 He said reports of heavy deployment of security forces to the area were worrying and could confirm fears that a terrorist group was behind the siege now dominating debates in the social media and elsewhere. “The truth should be told through the mainstream media. Silence on the current speculation will lead to more speculation and anxiety,” he told The Citizen. One soldier was killed and several police officers got injured during the shootout on Friday.

 Mr Andrew Malalika, the director of Jackpot Safaris and Tours criticised those behind the security scare, saying the information could impact negatively on the tourism and even routine activities.

“It’s a big blow to my business even if it is not true information. There has to be a way of alerting people,” he said, noting that such information has to be relayed to the public “in a proper way”.

 Mr Malalika, who is a member of the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators (Tato), warned that noboy should make a mockery in this situation for it is adversely affecting the country’s peace and tranquillity and most significantly, the tourism.

He added that reports of Al Sbabaab were worrisome because of Tanga’s proximity to Mombasa, Kenya  where the Somalia-based militants have carried numerous deadly attacks for several years now.

 “This could be only a scare but people should not take it for fun. It could be used by some people to destroy  us”, he pointed out, noting that  Amboni caves are among the leading tourist attractions in the coastal areas.

Mr Charles Mpanda, a former councillor for Chadema in Kaloleni ward in Arusha, played down the incident but wondered why such  excessive force had been used. He is also suprised by failure by the security forces to arrest the suspects.

A travel publisher based here Francis Chokala declined to comment on the shootings but was against the proposal to destroy the Amboni caves ostensibly to destroy a haven for criminals.

The caves, located about 8km north of Tanga off the highway to Mombasa, are the most extensive limestone caves in East Africa, according to geologists. They were formed some 150 million years ago and covers an area of 234sqkm, which scientists say was under water 20 million years ago.

Frequent visitors to the site say only one of the caves is used for guided tours and that many others are not used and could be used by criminals without the knowledge of the authorities.  In recent years, it has been popular for researches and students from different levels of education ladder, including the education institutions based in Arusha.
Mr Daniel Sabuni, a sales executive with a media house in Arusha, said he was recently at the site with his family and cannot imagine that it has been turned into a terrorists hideout.  Records indicate that Amboni Limited acquired the area in 1892 at the start of the colonial rule.