Conveniently located on the Gulu-Kampala highway, a five and half hours’ drive from Kampala, Uganda’s capital covering upto 363.3 km and about 32 kilometers north of Gulu Town, the fort is enclosed by a 16 feet wide and 15 feet deep trench dug by slaves on the orders of the Arabs to avoid the escape of captives.
Fort Patiko also refered to as Samuel baker’s fort has a lot of stories to reminisce in its Arab slave trade history. This site covers about 9.4 hectares and is neighbored by six hills – Ajulu, Ladwong, Akara, Abaka and Labworomor to the north and Kiju hill to the south.
We had chance to travel there as part of our Tulambule Northern Uganda weekend escape. While there, we learnt that this fort was used as a collection point for slavery during the 19th century. Samuel baker built this site as a military fort in the northern part of Uganda though completion was done on 25th December, 1892.
When baker left in the year 1888, Emin Pasha and comrade Charles Gordon who by then served as Governor of equatorial province of the British Uganda protectorate took over it. A plaque on the remaining wall of a grain storage building in the center of the fort reads “Fatiko 1872 -88, founded by Sir Samuel Baker, occupied by Emin and Gordon”.
The Arabs specifically used the fort as a slavery collection point for the able bodied men and energetic women who would later on be relocated to Asia for hard labour and exploitation. The story here later narrates that beautiful girls were never left back however young they were and same applied to young handsome boys who were married off by women at early ages.
Slave trade by then was major business for the Arabs and victims were always arrested from Northern Uganda, Gondokoro in Sudan among other areas. Ocecu Hill became a sorting ground for slaves. Healthy-looking ones were forced to trek from Patiko, through Sudan across the Red Sea and sold in Egypt.
Caves around the fort were used as prisons for men and women though they never had enough space so suspects and criminals were always crowded before being apprehended to a court that always gathered in an open space were justice and punishments were allocated from.
When Sir Samuel Baker took over the fort between the years 1872 to 1888, he was immediately sent on a mission by the Queen of England to stop slave trade that was main business for Arabs.
While Sir Samuel Baker occupied the fort from 1872 to 1888, he was later sent on a mission by the Queen of England to stop the slave trade which was being carried out by the Arabs slave traders.
Slaves were a key trading item for the Arabs too and were captured from northern Uganda, Gondokoro in Sudan and other areas. Ocecu Hill became a sorting ground for slaves. Healthy-looking ones were forced to trek from Patiko, through Sudan across the Red Sea and sold in Egypt.
This fort had the following divisions which were instrumental to the Arab slave traders: The industrial area, Court yard, Prosecution Chamber- by (firing squad/beheading), Concrete stores and an Administrative Chamber.
Currently, the site is a tourist attraction centre and used for recreational purposes such as; Camping, bon fire, bird watching plus its also home to many snakes among other wildlife species.
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Also find out more about Uganda’s beauty on the links http://ugandawildlife.org and http://visituganda.com
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