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Guides claimed to harass Mt Kilimanjaro climbers
2008-01-30 09:30:14
By Cynthia Mwilolezi, PST, Arusha
The Kilimanjaro National Park Authority (KINAPA) has been advised to adopt a mechanism which would monitor and punish tourist guides who harass tourists, hence reduce the number of travellers who intend to climb Mt Kilimanjaro.
The advice was sounded by the Director of Big Expedition Company, Nicholaus Minja in a letter to KINAPA, in which he mentioned a man (name withheld), a leader of a group of tourist guides, who was involved in a commotion with seven Canadian tourists, causing a 2m/- loss to the authority.
In the letter with reference Big/Guide/01/08 dated January 23, this year, Minja said the leader acted contrary to his professional ethics as he forced the tourists to descend the mountain a day before completion of their timetable by frightening them that if they reached the peak of the mountain they would lose their lives.
The letter continues to say that what the man was supposed to do was to encourage the tourists rather than frighten and horrify them, a thing that only succeeded in defaming his company and the tourism sector in the country.
``Due to the said incident,`` the letter points out that, ``the tourists presented their complaints to respective authorities and promised that they would communicate the incident to their colleagues back home,`` the letter said.
Meanwhile, talking to PST, the man behind the complaints confessed having told the tourists to descend a day before on account that the situation on the mountain was diametrically unfriendly on the material day due to harsh wind storm.
``I confess having told them not to proceed up the mountain, but I did it for their own safety and the porters, I completely exonerate myself on what has been termed as mud-slinging the tourism sector,`` he said.
At the same time, the supervisor of the park, Nyamakumbati Mafuru, confessed to have received the letter, but he declined comment saying he was not the spokesman on the specific issue.
``We normally receive complaints of this nature and take necessary steps, but I may give you further explanation if I get the permission to speak on it from the headquarters,`` he said.
However, Mafuru said he would call on guides of mountain climbers to work diligently and professionally in order to encourage more tourists who want to climb Africa`s highest mountain.
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