Kampala City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has warned the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) about evicting settlers in wetlands without compensation.
Lukwago’s warning comes just a month after NEMA evicted settlers in Lubigi Wetland. This exercise saw families in Ganda-Nasere village, Wakiso Subcounty in Wakiso District lose their homes.
Following the evictions, NEMA faced criticism for what people called double standards. This was due to the fact that the Stabex fuel station was left standing as other houses were razed. NEMA has since defended its actions, confirming that the Stabex was established before the encroachment.
Additionally, NEMA had revealed that they have no plans of compensating wetland encroachers. While appearing before Parliament’s Committee of Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) on Tuesday, 25th June, NEMA Legal Adviser Sarah Naigaga rejected the calls by the MPs to compensate victims of Lubigi.
However, according to Erias Lukwago, NEMA is acting in contravention of the law. Lukwago also wondered why NEMA was using equipment belonging to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to carry out evictions in Wakiso District.
“Where are NEMA’s graders? Those graders they [NEMA] are using belong to KCCA. How do you use KCCA graders to [evict residents of] Wakiso? They should have gone to Wakiso District and got graders from there.” — Erias Lukwago.
The tough-speaking Lord Mayor also warned KCCA staff against giving their equipment to NEMA. Lukwago also announced plans to establish a district environment committee, as mandated by the NEMA Act 2019. According to Erias, this body will be responsible for making decisions on wetlands and other physical features in the ecosystem. He also added that the Committee will decide whether NEMA carries out an eviction or not.
Rubaga Division LC5 Councillor Ritah Nakubulwa also added her voice to Lukwago’s warnings. She said that NEMA acted illegally when they picked KCCA machines and graders to evict residents in Lubigi Wetland. Nakubulwa also asked NEMA to use their own machines.
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