Uganda minister orders arrest of Bushenyi environment officer and developer over wetland
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Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahaara has ordered the immediate arrest of Bushenyi's district environment officer and a local businessman over the degradation of a gazetted wetland in Rwentuuha Town Council.
Uganda's Minister of Local Government, Balaam Barugahaara, has demanded the immediate arrest of the Bushenyi District Environment Officer, Vicent Katate, and a prominent local businessman, Moses Ariho, director of Kituzi Farm Company Limited, over the rapid degradation of a gazetted wetland in Rwentuuha Town Council.
The minister made the directive during a field inspection below the Kituzi Highway Point, where he confronted what he called blatant environmental impunity and selective law enforcement that favours wealthy developers over poor citizens. He cited the construction of a Kituzi petrol station inside the swamp as a prime example of the destruction.
"What are encroachers doing in a wetland? The poor are being evicted from the wetlands and the rich stay there. The environment officer should be arrested," Barugahaara said, demanding that the director of Kituzi also face immediate arrest.
The minister called the executive director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Dr Barirega Akankwasah, from the site to establish whether the developer had been cleared to build in the gazetted zone. Akankwasah disowned the activity, saying: "I need to check because I don't think I cleared him to degrade the wetland. I am going to send the team to inspect him."
Bushenyi District LC5 chairman Prosper Twebaze confirmed the area is fully protected under national law, while Assistant Resident District Commissioner Hillary Ngambirne said individuals had been caught using chemical herbicides and digging illegal drainage channels. Environmental police and NEMA inspectors are expected in Rwentuuha to mark boundaries, halt ongoing construction and restore the degraded ecosystem.