It was beyond politics on Tuesday when President Yoweri Museveni said he felt lost for a while after observing that no such beautiful Greenland-like Zoka Forest was visible in Adjumani District.
‘Whenever I come to Adjumani from Entebbe by helicopter, I pass over Zoka Forest. But today (Tuesday), when I looked through the window, there was no Zoka. I thought I was lost. What happened to Zoka?’ Mr Museveni asked.
Mr Museveni, who was in Adjumani District campaigning for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party candidate ahead of Thursday’s Adjumani West by-election, sought an explanation from the party chairperson, MrCharles Akuku, who attributed the disappearance of the forest cover to encroachment and settlement inside the reserve.
He told the President that more than 500 people had reportedly settled inside the protected area, undertaking illegal activities including charcoal burning and lumbering.
In response, Mr Museveni warned that the government would confront those responsible for destroying the forest. ‘We are going to have war with them,’ Mr Museveni said.
ZOKA FOREST
This is not the first time that the President is calling for war against the illegal loggers and charcoal dealers in the forest.
In August 2019, during the Symposium at Muni University in Arua City, President Yoweri Museveni, in his speech, ordered that ‘Get out of Zoka Forest. It is just a small area. Why do you destroy this small forest? People who are going into the forests and wetlands ignorantly don’t know the consequences; they should get out because they are destroying the environment. We should stand firm and tell them to get out peacefully.’
The remarks come amid growing concern over the rapid degradation of Zoka Central Forest Reserve, one of the key natural forests in the West Nile sub-region.
The rain forest has become a hotbed for plundering, especially the Afzellia African species, Shea trees and others, which are harvested for timber and charcoal.
Two weeks ago, Adjumani District Council passed a resolution calling for urgent measures to protect and restore the reserve following revelations of extensive illegal activities inside the protected area.
Among the resolutions is the immediate eviction of illegal encroachers and the opening and clear marking of the boundaries of Zoka Central Forest Reserve.
The council also called for stronger enforcement of forestry laws and closer coordination between government agencies, district leaders, cultural institutions and communities to halt further destruction.
Adjumani District Chairperson John Anyanzo said the district council’s resolution was intended to complement ongoing efforts by Parliament and other stakeholders to protect the forest.
Parliamentary alarm
The district’s action follows a fact-finding visit by the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, which recently assessed the condition of Zoka Central Forest Reserve.
The committee, led by its chairperson, Mr Dan Kimosho, and deputy chairperson, Ms Ann Nankabirwa, visited the forest alongside district leaders, councillors, security officials, technical officers, cultural leaders, conservation groups and community members.
The visit exposed extensive human activity inside the reserve, including illegal logging, charcoal burning, farming and encroachment.
The committee also found makeshift camps reportedly occupied by illegal loggers and charcoal dealers. Women and children were also seen in some of the settlements, raising concerns about the growing nature of human habitation inside the protected area.
The presence of settlements, district leaders say, makes enforcement more complicated and increases the risk of further destruction of the forest.
The Team Leader of Friends of Zoka, Mr William Amanzuru, has often called for implementation of the law without compromise on saving the forest. ‘Every day, we cry for this forest to be protected because it has been under siege for decades. The forest is virtually gone because we have well-connected people operating illegally in the forest.’
He said there are illegal settlements and construction of petrol stations that have been done in the forest. ‘These people are most times supported by the military because when you impound logs or charcoal, you get threatening calls from anonymous people in the military,’ he said.
The district council’s resolutions now put pressure on responsible government agencies to enforce the law while balancing conservation measures with the concerns of communities living around the forest.
The developments have also renewed calls for stronger protection of Zoka, amid concerns that continued logging, charcoal production and agricultural expansion could further reduce the forest cover if urgent action is not taken.