KAMPALA – The Town Clerk, Makindye Ssabagabo Municipla Council, Richard Monday has issued a warning to all developers and encroachers on the area wetlands to vacate within 28 days or else be forcefully evicted.
The warnings follow the National Environment Management Authority – NEMA’s deliberate actions to reclaim the wetlands that have been encroached on in a move to preserve the environment.
In his June 25, 2024 letter, Monday noted that the encroachers had earlier been warned over the same.
“As you are aware of the ongoing forceful evictions in Lubigi wetland which has left very many people homeless and properties destroyed, the exercise is intended to cover even other areas where encroachment on wetlands is vividly seen.”
“Therefore, the purpose of this notification is to alert you and provide you with ample time (28 days) to vacate these areas accordingly before legal proceedings and operations are effected,” he noted.
Earlier this week, a group of Human Rights Defenders decried the ongoing evictions being undertaken by NEMA-Uganda to reclaim the wetlands of Ganda-Nasere, Nansana along Lubigi.
Resource Rights Africa, Network of Public Interest Lawyers, and National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders noted that the exercise “that targeted vulnerable urban poor” has been characterized by destruction of property, disruption of livelihoods at all imaginable levels, with grave repercussions on the compounded vulnerability of women and children.
According to them, eviction is selective targeting only the properties of the poor and vulnerable persons and sparing those that belong to the rich.
“For example, one wonders why Stabex Petrol Station, Mandela Millers, Kumbocha Products Ltd all situated in the middle of Lubigi wetland have been spared!”
They noted that these eviction processes witnessed before, during and after execution are short of Uganda’s domestic, regional and international human rights standards demanded of States during evictions.
They asked NEMA and the Government to undertake responsible and sustainable environment protection frameworks which promote local citizenry participation that even where evictions are deemed necessary, they are undertaken in a manner prescribed by law including among other aspects, sufficient notice, proper compensation and equal application of the law to all regardless of financial status as is evident in the evictions prevalent. In the struggle to keep the environment from encroachment, the people and community rights, even of the poor must matter.
Responding to several questions Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, Executive Director, NEMA, noted that Uganda’s wetland cover has reduced from 15.6% in 1994 to only 8.9% in 2019 but has been a slight recovery of up to 9.3%.
To prevent further loss of wetlands in Uganda, he explained that a decision was made to suspend approvals of developments in Wetlands effective 2nd September 2021 until further notice with exception of critical public infrastructure like Roads, Pipelines, Railways, Telecommunication infrastructure among others provided they are effectively guided by the Environment and Social Impact Assessment Processes.
