Judith Tebutt, a 57 year old social worker was kidnapped and her husband, David Tebbutt, 58, killed by Somali pirates on September 11^th 2011 on the first night of their planed two week holiday in Kenya at the pounds 280-a-night Kiwayu Safari Village.

On the fateful night, the two were sleeping in a cabin close to the shore when the Somali pirates approached sea at 4am. The husband was shot in the chest and died as he tried to put up a fight against the pirates while Judith was forced on to a waiting speed boat which reached Somali waters 30 miles within an hour.

Two weeks later, Mrs. Tebutt was then sold to another militia group, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama for approximately pounds 200,000. The kidnappers allowed her to make frequent calls home partly to make it easier to extract ransom from her family by proving she was still alive!  Mrs. Tebutt disclosed she did not realize her husband had been killed until two weeks after being taken hostage when she got the sad news from her only child and son Oliver during one of the many phone calls that she was allowed by her captors. In her words; “I felt extremely sad; very, very sad indeed. He was a good man. That was very unfortunate, really horrible. But you’ve just got to pick up the pieces and move on.”!

As it is a government policy not to pay ransom for hostages as it encourages further kidnappings, Oliver has been working behind the scenes and engaging in a series of negotiations that finally made it possible for the $1.1 million ransom, raised by the members of the family, to be airdropped to the kidnappers in the remote Adado region of central Somalia.

When it became clear that her mother was free, Oliver Tebutt, 25, is believed to have flown to Nairobi and the two will return together to the UK.

Uganda secured a 3rd position among the African exhibitors at the recently completed International Travel Bureau in

Wildlife Uganda Safari- Game Drive

Berlin Germany. The Ugandan contingency was led by the minister of tourism professor Ephraim Kamuntu and Mr. Baguma Cuthbert, the general manager of Uganda Tourist Board together with hoteliers and tour operators from the private sector who did their best to present Uganda as a viable tourist destination as well as market their enterprises.

This is a very positive step for the country’s tourism sector, one that survives on very meager resources for both the tourist board and the ministry’s budget share but has struggled to strive, something that deserves credit. The achievement is also partly attributed to the fame that Uganda has acquired after being named Lonely planet’s best tourist destination for the year 2012.

Morocco emerged the winner of all African countries, something that did not come as a surprise to the judge considering the number of votes that were cast for the country. Last years’ winner, Burundi, came second. Rwanda, having dominated the 1st place for 4 years and coming out 2nd last year, emerged 4th and Kenya in the 5th position.

Considering the above, it is an explicit fact that East Africa is a lucrative tourist destination considering the abundant tourist attractions including the rare mountain gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda, herds of wildlife in Kenya and Tanzania, wonderful people and cultures, great fresh food, beaches and resorts, fresh water lakes and rivers including the Nile, a host of mountains including, Kilimanjaro, Rwenzori, Mt Kenya, Mt Elgon among others! The list is endless! Contact us for East African safari ideas and free travel advice.