Entebbe’s three hotels are completely booked.
Despite an attack on Kabul Airport last Thursday that killed over 170 people and injured another 150, US President Joe Biden says evacuations will stop on August 31.
According to URN, three hotels in the Entebbe municipality have been fully booked to accommodate at least 500 Afghan evacuees. Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel, and Central Inn are among them, with 51 evacuees staying there.
While the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel is closed to the public and guarded by the Joint Security Taskforce, the other two hotels have just basic security. Our reporter tried to reserve a room at two hotels but was denied down. “We are getting bookings for meetings but not accommodations because of the evacuees,” a Central Inn source said.
The hotel was approached by the US embassy to prepare for evacuees, according to a source at the hotel. “As a result, we’re not sure if we’ll be able to continue doing business as usual.” According to a source at the Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel, all business for the Imperial hotels in Entebbe is handled at the Kampala headquarters.
“We have no idea when these Afghans will arrive. Nonetheless, we are unable to take reservations for our accommodations. We are, nevertheless, available for conferences and meetings, according to the source. The three hotels were rented by the US embassy on August 16, according to sources, after Uganda’s government stated that it had agreed to accept 2,000 Afghan evacuees.
When the Taliban ousted Ashraf Ghani’s administration on August 16, the evacuations began. This spurred the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany to evacuate approximately 100,000 people from Afghanistan, including former US personnel, activists, and journalists, whose lives were in danger.
Despite an attack on Kabul Airport last Thursday that killed over 170 people and injured another 150, US President Joe Biden says evacuations will stop on August 31. Last Monday, John Mulimba, the Minister of State for Regional Cooperation, told the media that the ministry does not know when the next round of evacuees will arrive.
The evacuees will be housed in hotels in the Entebbe municipality, according to Mulimba. The US Embassy in Kampala says it will keep the public informed as the situation in Afghanistan evolves. Some hotels in Entebbe have begun to solicit business.
The Managing Director of Pulickal Hotel, Soubia Antony, says they are “hopeful” despite the fact that they have no reservations to lodge the evacuees. The Deputy Resident District Commissioner for Entebbe municipality, Hajji Mbabali Njuki, says hotels in Entebbe will be awarded business as long as they match the refugees’ criteria and needs. “However, not all hotels can accommodate these evacuees,” he quickly added.
