“The rich are untouchable”: Uganda’s struggle to protect its wetlands

 

Summary: From the Namatala Wetland in the east to the Nyakambu Wetland in the west, the Amorigoga Wetland in the north, and the Namiiro and Lubigi Wetlands in central Uganda, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and police have intensified their crackdowns on encroachers who have caused the country's wetlands, which covered 15.5% of Uganda's land in 1994, to just 8.4% in 2019. Hundreds of people have been arrested and thousands evicted in this exercise. However, many people who live or work on the wetlands have complained about NEMA’s conduct, they allege, the authorities are only targeting poor communities. Guyson Nangayi, has traveled across the country to investigate on these allegations.  

 

By Nangayi Guyson 

 

Pieces of  eucalyptus  trees cut down during operation by Ugandan authorities during the crackdown on wetland encroachers lay-down in Lubigi wetland area. Photo by Nangayi Guyson

Kampala, Uganda- Standing on Makerere University Hill, a site estimated to be 4,188 feet above sea level and looking down into the Valley on the northern and western sides of Kampala, the country's capital, one can see Lubigi, a papyrus wetland. The sprawling wetland, some 7.5 kilometers west of Kampala, is located at an elevation of about 1 165 meters above sea level.

Here, government officials aided by heavily armed security forces effected a wave of arrests, evicted hundreds of people, cut down eucalyptus  trees, and destroyed markets, lorry parks, and many other structures in a long-awaited operation last month.

Now, Lubigi Wetland is slowly returning to its usual self. In fact, it seems nothing happened last month with more and more people back on site. Temporary structures are mushrooming all over the wetland. Sand selling, car washing and other activities that characterized the site before the operation are back in full swing like before. The locals accuse authorities of targeting poor communities and leaving corporations owned by wealthy individuals, who have constructed permanent structures on these water catchments, to trade unperturbed.

“Removing us from this location wouldn’t be awful. However, the approach is not acceptable,” says Fred Sseguya Mivule, who ran a kiosk selling soft drinks in a taxi park in Lubigi. “They didn’t notify us to remove our properties. They simply arrived and began trashing everything. Some of us are operating these enterprises with bank loans.”

James Muyinda, the chairperson of Lubigi Sand Sellers’ Association says the government crackdown on wetland encroachers was not fair.

In his view, there is selective application of laws and regulations.

 He points at Starbex petrol station, a few meters away, which he says was constructed on a wetland and has not been evicted in the same crackdown.

“Authorities are not being fair to us the poor. Before the government came into power this place was there and our parents had houses here. Look at that petrol station over there,” Muyinda said, pointing at Starbex petrol station a few meters away. 

“Is it not on the wetland and why is it not being evicted?” In the opposite direction, a dump truck loads sand.

According to Muyimda, the Lubigi wetland employed 400 people from the "poor communities" who generate "income from it to educate their kids, buy food and pay rent."

 "But as you can see, authorities want us to leave so that the rich people can construct. I wonder why the government is focusing on poor people and not removing the Indians and other investors who are already on the wetlands and are continuing to construct factories and other permanent structures," Muyinda said.

James Muyinda, the chairperson of Lubigi Sand Sellers’ Association says the government crackdown on wetland encroachers was not fair. Photo by Nangayi Guyson

 

 

This writer camped in Lubigi wetland for 10 hours to ascertain Muyinda’s claims the government was targeting the poor and letting established businesses construct permanent structures on the wetland and witnessed 13 dump trucks offload sand on a site to pave way for the construction, a maize milling plant by James Ssenoga and Trinity Bus Company.

Trucks pour soil to fill up part of Lubigi  wetland  to pave way for construct. this is where authorities removed encroachers last month. Photo By Nangayi Guyson

In an interview with Resident district commissioner, Justine Mbabazi, she said “we have also heard that there are some people pouring soil in that wetland area where we recently removed encroachers. We’re following up on that matter and we’re waiting to verify a few things and soon we will be there, and the culprits will pay the cost.” 

These actions by authorities came after repeated presidential directives to remove people from the country’s wetlands. As businesses, farms and homes have increasingly encroached on these environmentally precious zones, wetland covering 15.5% of Uganda’s land in 1994 has reduced to 8.4% in 2019.  Scientists see the total wetland coverage reducing to just 1% of Uganda by 2040.

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has carried out crackdowns and reiterated its previous calls for people to vacate lakeshores, riverbanks, forest reserves and wetlands. And last month, President Yoweri Museveni renewed his public criticism of companies situated on protected lands.

“By interfering with the forests and wetlands in Uganda, we are interfering with the rainfall,” he said. “I am fighting to make sure that nobody cultivates in the wetlands…How can we kill ourselves and commit suicide by attacking the wetlands?”

For Amina Nanziri Lukanga, Resident City Commissioner for Kampala, the government approaching evictions in a fair manner.

“Is not true that we’re only targeting the poor. We have been talking to people one-on-one as a group to make sure that people understand what the president is trying to say in saving these wetlands,” she says. “If there are any people who can’t understand and leave peacefully, then there’s nothing to do but just force them out.”

John Gumumushade, a 42-year-old father of six, is similarly dismayed. He lives on Namiiro wetland, along the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, where 5,000 people face eviction. Over many years, they have built houses, businesses, schools, and churches on the 1,000-hectare site.

“When we started buying these plots, all authorities here including the so called NEMA were seeing us. No one stopped us,” says Gumumushade. “I pushed a wheelbarrow selling fruits as a hawker for seven years to acquire this plot but now it is being taken away from me without compensation.”

Another rule for the rich

Despite denials of selective application of the law by authorities, many who live in the vicinity of wetlands believe the operation is targeting the poor.

 

A trucks offload soil at Rosebud Limited in Entebbe. NEMA has listed the among wetland encroachers . PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA

As security forces were destroying markets and shops on Lubigi, two flower farms belonging to Uganda’s richest man, Sudhir Ruparelia, could be seen extending their reach into wetlands outside Kampala.

“This farm started from a very small piece of land, but every day we see them expanding and the whole wetland is getting lost,” said Musa Kavuma, a neighbour and eyewitness. When asked by African Arguments whether the company had permits to utilize the area, farm manager Ravi Kumar declined to answer. “You don’t know how these things work and you have got wrong information,” he said.

In Entebbe municipality, Akright Projects, another business owned by one of Uganda’s richest men, Hamis Kuggundu, is similarly actively building on wetlands. The Ham Palm Villas complex is set to be a high-end 200-acre gated community replete with luxury homes, swimming pools, gyms, supermarkets and more. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

“Despite the laws in place, encroachment on these areas has continued, mostly because the government and the institutions it has mandated continue to encourage this,” says environmental campaigner Bridget Ampurira.

Some Ugandan officials deny that there is a discrepancy in how different encroachers on wetlands are treated. “We are not focusing on the poor people, and no one is above the law,” says Vincent Barugahare, commissioner at the Ministry of Water and Environment. “We are coming for them and it’s just a matter of time; we have not yet reached them.”

However, other officials speak openly of finding it difficult to tackle wealthy companies. Jane Asiimwe Muhindo, Bushenyi Resident District Commissioner, says she has faced intimidation from “high-end” individuals including government officials when trying to tackle big businesses in western Uganda.

“Although we are working hard to carry out the president’s directive on protecting wetlands, we are facing opposition from well-connected officials who are trying to undermine us,” she says. “When we visit the community, people complain that we have [overlooked] the wealthy residents, [but] as a result of our efforts to pursue [those rich residents], we end up becoming victims.”

According to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, the investors are permitted to inhabit the catchment regions because they could not have been aware that these are protected zones.

"We are targeting those [locals] who went there [wetlands] after being warned, not those [investors] who went there [wetlands] without warning," he stated.

"It's true that the government wants all investors with wetlands-related projects to relocate, but we need to give them some time so they don't lose their money," said Evelyn Anite, the minister of state for privatization and investments.

She added That " period should be at least 5 to 10 years and we're talking about investors who are doing business in ungazetted areas, but in those in Gazetted areas like in the newly created industrial parks in wetland areas should not worry."

The problem of enforcing environmental rules when dealing with rich companies in Uganda is long-standing. As early as 2010, a frustrated NEMA decided to name and shame scores of companies and individuals encroaching on wetlands.

Speke Resort and Country Lodge commonly known as Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort seating on approximately 90 acres of land was built in wetland area on the shores of Lake Victoria topped the list for degrading wetlands. In 2020, the waters tried to reclaim its place and this whole area flooded forcing all its beaches and gardens to close. 

The writer Nangayi Guyson surveys another wetland site  where truck drivers have continued to pour soil to fill up wetland area in Nsambya, Kampala, Uganda. Credit: Nangayi Guyson.

Mukwano Group of Companies also on this list is the biggest factory in Uganda. It’s also built in the wetland area and it has on several occasions been accused for discharging in the drainage systems within the city Centre.  

Hi-Tech Metal Industries Limited. Which manufactures Hitech Cables is also seating in wetland area in Mukono district on the outskirts of kampala is also known to have occupied the biggest wetland area. 

In naming and shaming, this companies and individuals, the hope was that it would push them to change their practices sooner than lengthy court battles, but it had little effect. Most of these companies are still in operation and still consuming the remaining wetland areas and this is so because most of them are owned by rich Uganda.

Now, officials say their next strategy is to go straight to the president for guidance.

“The biggest number of people destroying wetlands are the rich who have become untouchable,” says Beatrice Anywar, State Minister for the Environment. “We are going to deal with them differently. We compiled a list of those untouchable wealthy people and it is already at the office of the president who is going to advise us on how to engage them.”

 

 

Ends//

This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. It was first published on Africanarguments on 1 September 2022 and has been lightly edited for length and clarity.