Hoima district security committee has launched an investigation into the influx of immigrants in the Bugoma central forestry Reserve.
Hoima Deputy RDC Abdul Swamad Wantimba says the immigrants now in their thousands infiltrated the forest about six months ago.
He says most of them are of Rwandese and Congolese origin and have settled in the reserve areas of Kabwoya and Kyangwali Sub counties.
The Deputy RDC says security in the district is not taking the matter lightly adding that a police post has already been established around the reserve to enforce security there.
The police post is also being reinforced by the army from the Kyangwali army detach who are now jointly patrolling the area.
Wantimba says since the particulars of these foreigners are not known, there is a possibility of them being agents of the rebel groupings-the Allied Democratic Forces and the People’s Redemption Army based in the Congo jungles.
He says soon a verification exercise will be carried out to screen the foreigners to ascertain their particulars.
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The immigrants are said to have cleared part of the forest for agriculture and settlement while others have large herds of cattle.
They claim they legally acquired the land through local leaders.
Fred Kanamwira, a Rwandese national from Kyangwali was on Tuesday afternoon found clearing part of the reserve land in Nyairongo Kaseeta parish in Kabwoya Sub County.
He had also allocated some plots to a group of other tribesmen and collected money from them. Kanamwira claims he had bought land in the reserve.
Francis Twesige Mukooto, the Kabwoya sub county chairman denies the allegations that sub county allocated land to the group. He however suspects the group could be part of the pastoralists evicted from Buliisa last year.
Twesige has ordered them out of the reserve and warned people against illegally allocate them land in the government reserves.
