Locals clash with Nema over wetland eviction

A section of residents in the Rubindi-Ruhumba Town Council in Mbarara District have accused the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) of wrongly evicting them from Rubindi wetland.

Last week, officials from Nema, the Ministry of Water and Environment and Mbarara District participated in a restoration exercise that demolished houses and destroyed gardens, among others, in Rubindi wetland and its buffer zone.

Mr William Mutagwenda, a businessman, said he was left homeless.

“I’m surprised that my house was demolished without giving me any warning and now I have nowhere to go. I pray that well-wishers help me with some money to pay for rent,” he said.

Mr Mutagwenda said he has been living in the same area for more than10 years.

“I request the government to give me some money to at least raise school fees for my children in school because I don’t have anywhere else to go. Money lenders and banks are going to sue me,” he said.

Ms Christine Aturinda the head teacher of Spring Junior School, said they were not given a notice of eviction.

 “We don’t know where they came from because we were not warned about this activity and we were not aware of this. The enforcers grabbed a phone from our gatekeeper and beat him up. Others came and destroyed the school fence and paddock for the school farm,” she said.

The Mbarara District Natural Resources Officer, Mr John Bagambe, said they had been warning people to vacate the wetland for the last six months.

“We have been conducting meetings regarding wetland restoration with the locals. We moved around and determined the activities and property on the wetland like houses, trees, coffee, and banana gardens, so we are evicting people who did not respond positively,” he said.

Mr Bagambe added: “We are doing this to enable the wetlands to do their natural functions.”

The Mbarara District Environment Officer, Ms Brendah Namara, said Rubindi Wetland is one of the biggest wetlands in the district.

“We have been warning encroachers at the district level but this time around we have partnered with the Ministry of Water and Environment to restore this wetland and we are demolishing houses that were constructed in wetlands,” she said.

Ms Namara added: “We had several meetings with people and we have tried to educate people about the importance of wetlands and slowly by slowly residents have started embracing it.”

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