Police Fire Teargas To Block Ssenyonyi’s Tour of Lubigi Wetland

Police fired tear gas to block Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP) Joel Ssenyonyi from touring the Lubigi wetland site on Monday morning.

Last week, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) evicted residents for illegally occupying the wetlands.

It is with this background that the LOP visited Lubigi to ascertain the situation on the ground. Ssenyonyi first interacted with the locals amid heavy police deployment.

During this interaction, Ssenyonyi said NEMA’s eviction was laced with double standards. Ssenyonyi wondered why police and fuel stations are still up yet homes were razed.

“There are known wetlands in Uganda that are full of factories; these ones aren’t being bothered.” – Ssenyonyi.

Ssenyonyi speculated on the possibility that the surviving businesses could be connected to government employees.

Ssenyonyi compared NEMA’s actions to the brutal rearrest of MP Paul Akamba at the Anti-Corruption Court last week.

According to Ssenyonyi, such acts of impunity affect all Ugandans despite their political affiliations.

He also wondered how the Government let the residents occupy a wetland for decades, citing it as an indictment on the regime.

“But you spent all this time and constructed when Government was watching. And some of you established businesses within these premises and have been paying taxes. So if Government says these people have occupied these premises illegally, why leave them to build and stay for this long and collect taxes from businesses established on illegal premises?” – Ssenyonyi

Police Fire Teargas

After addressing the residents, Ssenyonyi attempted to access the site of the wreckage. This prompted the Police to engage him in a futile verbal exchange that was meant to stop him.

However, Ssenyonyi and his entourage were determined to access the wreckage, forcing the police to fire tear gas to disperse what had turned into a protest.

Ssenyonyi was rushed away from the scene by Parliament security.