By Alfred Byenkya
American film star Forest Whitaker, who starred in the movie The Last King of Scotland, is in Uganda for a private visit.
He became famous here and abroad because of his role in the movie as the late president Idi Amin Dada, who governed Uganda from 1971 to 1979.
The 2006 movie enabled him be nominated in many international film awards that included British Film of the Year and Actor of the Year (2007).
Whitaker, who last came to Uganda in 2019, is back in the country for a series of activities that include charity and also promoting the tourism industry.
The 61-year-old actor is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Special Envoy for Peace & Reconciliation.
The Ministry of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities, through their Twitter handle, said Whitaker is currently visiting Moroto district and will also be touring northern Uganda districts to monitor peace and development initiatives, and is expected to be in Uganda for some days.
“Hollywood Multi-award winning actor & director Forest Whitaker enjoys Uganda’s fresh breeze, ambiance & cultural experience in Moroto district. The great actor is in the country to monitor a number of programmes under the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiatives. Welcome home,” the ministry tweeted.
Whitaker has been in Uganda on many occasions to support his humanitarian work with Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), an initiative that is supporting youth projects in northern Uganda.
He founded WPDI, a non-governmental organisation, in 2012.
WPDI aims at implementing peace-building programmes in conflict affected communities throughout the world, which are focused on training youth in conflict resolution and developing businesses in the affected areas.
