Francis Byarugaba, the Sembabule District Environmental Officer has described the encroachers as refugees who escaped from their gazetted settlement in Nakivale camp.
Encroachers have cultivated huge chunks of land in swamps around river
Katonga in Sembabule district, raising concern of massive environment destruction
in the area.
At least 80 people have so far reclaimed swamps along the edges of
river Katonga in the sub counties; Kawanda, Kyera, Bulongo and Rugushuulu in
Sembabule district where people are searching for land to carryout farming.
Several encroachers reportedly from Rwanda and Burundi are largely
concentrated at the border of Sembabule and Gomba districts, where they are
cultivating crops that include among others; Maize, beans, tomatoes,
cassava and other seasonal vegetables.
Francis Byarugaba, the Sembabule District Environmental Officer has
described the encroachers as refugees who escaped from their gazetted
settlement in Nakivale camp.
Byarugaba indicates these people came to Sembabule as casual labourers
on local farms about a year ago, until recently when he learnt that they
started putting up temporally settlements hence destroying the ecosystem in the
area.
While addressing a community meeting at Makoole village on Wednesday, Byarugaba
indicated that they have instructed these refugees to vacate the wetlands, but all in vain. He blamed some of local leaders of condoning the habit by helping the
encroachers to evade arrest.
//Cue in: “bwekituuka
kwekyo…..
Cue out: ……report to
environment.”//
Besides the refugees who are new invaders, Byarugaba adds that some of local
communities including prominent people are also destroying the swamp land,
which they are replacing with eucalyptus forests. According to him, the encroachers have so far
destroyed about 120 acres of swamp in the district. He has however asked the village council to closely corroborate with
the district environment office and security teams to fight the ongoing
depleting of wetlands in their areas.
Robert Ambikire, the Sembabule L.C.V councilor representing Ntuusi Sub
county and Secretary Natural Resources Committee, says they notified the
relevant ministries about the ongoing encroachment, requesting that they
directly intervene in the situation.
But Nixon Kabuye, the Sembabule Resident District Commissioner has
instructed police to promptly move in and backup the environment officers to
evict all encroachers on wetlands.
