Before, during, and after sunset, trucks, motorcycles, and tricycles roar along dusty roads in West Nile, winding through woodlands loaded with timber, charcoal, and wildlife from protected zones across the 13 districts bordering South Sudan and DR Congo.
From a distance the vehicles appear to carry agricultural produce. But beneath tarpaulins lie hundreds of bags of freshly made charcoal, logs, and wildlife products destined for urban markets hundreds of kilometres away. Environmental activists, local leaders, and conservation experts say it is a nature crime network thriving in the region.
The trade includes illegal logging, charcoal burning, timber trafficking, and wildlife smuggling. It is eating away at ecosystems that communities have depended on for generations. Interviews with locals, leaders, conservationists and authorities reveal a web fueled by poverty, weak enforcement, market demand, and cross-border trafficking.
The result is an ecological crisis already felt through shrinking forest cover, unpredictable weather, degraded land, and declining wildlife. From Pakwach to Adjumani, huge tree stumps dot former woodlands and hillsides once covered in indigenous trees now stand exposed to erosion.
Adjumani resident Solomon Agwe gave the history on Thursday: ‘Back then in the 1990s, there used to be Mvule trees that gave Adjumani a unique identity. The trees used to be part of us because they provided a cool environment and support for ecosystems. But they are gone.’
He said those involved ‘have acquired land in the forests, especially Zoka forest and East Madi Wildlife reserve in Adjumani, Mt Kei in Yumbe district. Despite the directives by the President, the charcoal business has continued.’
Mr Agwe noted that illegal loggers and wildlife traffickers use tricks and technology ahead of conservationists.
Boda boda rider Joseph Anyanzo, who once ferried charcoal from Zoka forest, told Daily Monitor on Wednesday: ‘I have ever transported bags of charcoal from Zoka forest at night to a location that I was directed to take them. At first, I didn’t know it was by the illegal loggers. They could pay me Shs 20,000 per trip.’
He added: ‘Upon realising that it is for the illegal loggers, I moved out of the business because it was risky and realised that they were finishing our trees.’
Anyanzo now faces the effects: ‘During the dry season that starts in December to March, it is like you are in hell. You just burn. It is because people have cut down most natural trees for timber and charcoal.’
Investigations show the lucrative charcoal business operates under the watch of security personnel. Mature trees like Afzelia Africana, Mahogany, Mvule and Shea Nut are cut, converted into charcoal, logs and timber, then sold to traders for Kampala and other urban markets where demand remains high.
Mr Mustafa Gerima, activist with Save the Shea Nut Foundation in Yumbe, said: ‘We have been fighting this vice, but with minimal efforts, because it is like a cat-and-mouse game.’
‘I shed tears when I see trucks loaded with charcoal or timber leaving West Nile. This has left us reeling with unpredictable weather patterns. Unfortunately, the army and police that are meant to enforce the law are part of the racket. The few sacks they impound end up being bought by the same people,’ he noted.
Underneath the trade are tricks to avoid detection. Charcoal burners use kilns in remote places and cover logs with soil to kill smoke. Motorcycles transport sacks to village collection points before trucks load at night when monitoring is limited. A resident of Kei in Yumbe, Salama Sali, said: ‘Deep in the night, you would hear motorcycles moving at a fast speed. By the time leaders or law enforcement wake up, charcoal is already far from here.’
Traffickers also mix illegal timber with legal consignments, use forged permits, recycled documentation, and informants on roadblocks. The geography makes monitoring hard with extensive borders through remote areas.
On June 10, police PRO North West Nile Collins Asea said a group fled Zoka forest after officers found them loading mahogany and Afzelia logs. ‘A total of 63 pieces of timber were recovered, with 21 pieces retained as evidence. Illegal logging and the harvesting and transportation of forest products have been persistent issues in the Madi sub-region,’ he said.
Despite President Museveni’s May 2023 Executive Order No. 3 banning large-scale commercial charcoal production in Northern Uganda, enforcement has expanded to small-scale use while traders use panya routes to escape.
Wildlife crime is also rampant. Team Leader of Zoka Forest William Amanzuru said: ‘People feed on bushmeat, and here they call it ‘black charcoal’. The different species of animals in East Madi Wildlife are no more because of this crime.’
He noted nature crime is ‘heavily militarised, which traffickers and illegal loggers use as a shield. The law on nature crime is a bit weak, and the traffickers and loggers use that loophole maximally.’
The Executive Director of Civic Advisory Hub, Yona Wanjala, said: ‘Nature crime is not a single offence, it is organised. It is a chain that is aided by different stakeholders from dealers, transporters, law enforcers, the local communities and even the banking sector.’
UWA Executive Director Dr John Musinguzi said a DNA Wildlife forensic laboratory launched this month will help prosecute poachers by identifying species and origin of meat. UWA recorded 367 poaching cases between February and June 2020, more than double the 163 cases in the same period in 2019.
Globally, environmental crime is the third-largest criminal economy after counterfeiting and drug trafficking, generating $110-281 billion annually and growing 5-7% per year, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.`