Leaders warn against bush fires

Mr Isaac Muluuta, a resident of Kabunyata village in Kamira Sub-county, points to a bush that was reportedly set on fire by hunters recently. PHOTO BY DAN WANDERA

What you need to know:

Hunting technique. Local authorities claim the bush fires are reportedly started by hunters to trap wild animals

Luweero.
Authorities in Luweero District have warned residents against bush burning in the cattle corridor of Kamira and Kikyusa sub-counties, saying the act risks their life and livestock.

The Kamira LC3 chairperson, Mr Livingstone Kategaya, said the fires have destroyed gardens and houses in the area.

“We have sent out messages to residents warning them against bush burning which risks lives of both livestock and people. We have already registered cases of destruction of property as a result of the wild fires which burnt five acres of maize and two houses at Kabukunga village,” Mr Kategaya said on Wednesday.

He said the wild fires are reportedly started by hunters to trap wild animals while some cattle keepers deliberately set the fires, claiming they will have fresh grass growing in a few days.
The LC3 boss said goats and cows are sometimes killed in the fires.

However, the Kamira secretary for works and technical services, Mr Musisi Lugemwa, said they also suspect malice by residents in some of the cases which were registered at the sub-county headquarters.

The Numbers
20: Number of acres of pine tree forests that were destroyed by wild fires last year, according to the Kamira secretary for works and technical services, Mr Musisi Lugemwa.