Rakai forests supervisor suspended
Minister Cheptoris (left) supervises the loading of illegal timber impounded from Malabigambo Forest last weekend. Photo by Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa
What you need to know:
- The minister also tasked the district police commander, Mr Julius Gobolo, to take action against all police officers accused of providing security to trucks ferrying illegal timber out of the forest reserve.
- NFA executive director Michael Mugisha said no timber dealer was licensed to cut trees in the forest and halted all the activities in the forest.
RAKAI- Minister for Water and Environment Sam Cheptoris has suspended the National Forest Authority supervisor in charge of Malabigambo Forest Reserve, Kyebe Sub-county, in Rakai District, over allegedly abetting illegal logging activities in the area.
The ministerial directive followed complaints from residents that Mr Richard Ssentulo was colluding with local police officials to clear truck-loads of illegal timber, with some crossing to neighbouring Tanzania.
“Our forests are disappearing and the President is bitter. These are the people who are letting us down,” he said
The minister issued the directive while meeting residents of Minziro village near Mutukula border last weekend. The minister had rushed to the area on the orders of President Museveni to assess the extent of the destruction in the forest.
While meeting victims of the September 10 earthquake which shook parts of Rakai last month, residents complained to Mr Museveni that the forest reserve was being cut down and NFA officials and police were doing nothing to address the problem.
The minister also tasked the district police commander, Mr Julius Gobolo, to take action against all police officers accused of providing security to trucks ferrying illegal timber out of the forest reserve.
“The district CIID department should investigate and find out the culprits behind the forest destruction and submit a report to my office in one week,” Mr Cheptoris said.
The minister said if NFA officials and police have failed to protect the forest reserve, he will ask the President to deploy soldiers.
Mr Cheptoris later visited the forest and impounded 200 pieces of illegal timber. However, no one was arrested from the forest. The minister donated the impounded timber to Kapangi Primary School which was affected by the earthquake.
NFA executive director Michael Mugisha said no timber dealer was licensed to cut trees in the forest and halted all the activities in the forest.
Mr Reuben Arinaitwe, the NFA manager in charge of Sango Bay Range, said most of the timber is cut at night and smuggled to Tanzania through porous border points.
The 11,173-hectare Malabigambo Forest Reserve borders Kyebe and Kakuuto sub-counties. It is endowed with tree species like measopsis emini (Musizi) and podo which have high demand both in Uganda and Tanzania.
Recent data estimates Uganda’s current forest cover to be at 10 per cent which is worrying and recently Mr Cheptoris revealed that the depletion level had reached 120,000 hectares up from 90,000 in the recent past.
