Moses Ssempala the LCI Chairperson of Bulingo; a village next to the rice estate says the Chinese are already luring residents in the area to sell off their pieces of land for rice growing.
The company, owned by Pastor Daniel Walugembe, petitioned the High Court Civil Division last year, challenging a directive by Parliament to ban their sand mining activities. The ban was effected after Parliament’s Natural Resources Committee received complaints that several companies were engaged in illegal sand mining and export.
Juliet Namakula, one of the affected residents blames the Chinese Investors of Zhong Rice Estates; currently operating in Lwera, for interfering with the Lake Victoria shorelines as they draw water for irrigating their plantations.
