The Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has criticized the ongoing wetland evictions by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), accusing the authority of selective evictions targeting poor people while leaving the rich and politically connected individuals to operate in wetlands.
The party deputy president for Western Region, Mr Robert Centenary, explained that although the party supports environmental conservation, it strongly opposes what he described as discriminatory enforcement that only affects the poor being affected.
‘While we accept that it is important to protect wetlands, we are concerned with the manner in which it’s being carried out, the method and scale. We are aware that factories and rice farms that belong to the rich sit undisturbed on the same wetlands where ordinary citizens are being chased away,’ Mr Centenary said while addressing the media in Kampala on Monday.
He added, ‘Not so long ago, these very poor people were chased from their places of work when the trade order law was being implemented, and now, before they even settle in, they have been followed up to their homes. This is an indictment and I think they are being condemned to go nowhere, yet they share the same rights as the other citizens.’
FDC has asked NEMA to demarcate all protected wetlands with clear boundaries that must be publicly accessible and mapped at the local government level so that any person applying for a building permit, buying land, or seeking a business license can verify the status of the land in advance.
Mr Centenary expressed concern over the humanitarian impact of the eviction, noting that elderly people are being evicted after living on the affected land for decades without being compensated, as highlighted in the Lands Act.
‘Both limitations Act (Cap80) and Lands Act (cap227): sections 29 and 30 grant bona fide occupants’ security. Persons who have occupied land for more than 12 years will be compensated upon eviction,’ he said.
The party also asked the government to compensate all persons who built or settled in wetlands under approval issued by NEMA, local government, or any other government t institutions.
‘What the government should have done was to do damage control and prevent anybody from developing those areas. Not waiting until they spend hefty amounts of money constructing and putting up structures,’ Mr Centenary said.
He added, ‘You can imagine we have a whole ministry in charge of housing and urban development, but today NEMA is evicting people from the wetlands. Why didn’t it regulate the development of housing in the wetlands?’
The party has further asked the government to utilize the land fund to provide resettlement support to displaced families, but also to suspend all the ongoing evictions until wetland boundaries are fully demarcated, publicly gazetted, and accessible to all citizens.
The NEMA spokesperson, Naomi Namara, denied selective eviction of people in wetlands, noting that the individuals/enterprises in wetlands talked about have approvals from NEMA.
‘People who you consider or you think are rich, who will put up big structures, usually will come to NEMA and seek permission, permits, and licenses to undertake certain activities in sensitive ecosystems, and when they seek permission, we will give them that permission, but with a condition, and then they will develop. And so, when the time for this demolition comes, we will not demolish those people’s structures because they would have sought permission, and it would have been given conditionally. If they violate the conditions, we would demolish their structures,’ Ms Namara said.
She added, ‘What happens with low-income earners is that usually they are the ones who do the opening up of a wetland. They open up a wetland, put up a shack, live there for a period of time, plant a tree like eucalyptus, which sucks water, big channels, and then what was wetland becomes compact land.’
However, she insists that whether the rich or poor are caught in a wetland without permits or without any documentation, they will easily be evicted because there will not be any legal activity arising.
Last week, NEMA resumed the Lubigi wetland eviction, where hundreds were left homeless. The joint agency operation, backed by the Uganda Police Force and Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF), demolished residential houses, rental units and makeshift commercial structures.
The Enforcement marks the second major wave of eviction in the ecological zone, following a similar exercise in May last year that displaced thousands.
At the same presser, the FDC party also expressed concern over reports of xenophobic hospitality and attacks targeting foreign nationals, including Ugandans in South Africa.
FDC urged the Ugandan government to engage its counterpart in South Africa through diplomatic channels and seek assurances regarding the safety and security of Ugandan citizens.
‘The South African High Commissioner to Uganda should be summoned to provide an explanation on the reported incidents and to communicate the measures being taken by the South African authorities to guarantee the safety of foreign nationals, including Ugandan citizens, in South Africa,’ Mr Centenary said.
The party further called upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ugandan diplomatic missions in South Africa to establish emergency communication channels, maintain an updated register of Ugandan nationals in the affected areas, provide consular assistance where necessary, and continuously update the public on the developments as they unfold.
South Africa is recently experiencing a wave of xenophobic attacks targeting African migrants and their businesses.