One thousand concerned farmers from Kabale, Rubanda, and Rukiga districts have signed a petition to present to the office of Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, demanding the halting of the ongoing forceful eviction of landowners from wetlands under the presidential directive until a common consensus is reached.
In late December 2023, authorities in the three districts began destroying crops grown by locals in wetlands and issued directives prohibiting further cultivation in these areas. This action followed President Yoweri Museveni’s directive issued in early December 2023, which required the forceful eviction of all individuals still cultivating in wetlands.
On Wednesday afternoon, leaders of the affected farmers presented copies of the petition to our reporter in Kabale town, intending to table it before the office of the parliamentary speaker before the end of the week. Our reporter observed names and signatures of more than 1000 affected farmers.
Denis Ndyomugyenyi Nzeirwe, a farmer from Katuna town council leading the petitioners, informed our reporter that the eviction is poised to cause dairy farmers, who have been feeding their cows from wetlands, to lose 5.4 billion Ugandan shillings from milk sales and 16.2 billion Ugandan shillings from meat sales annually.
Their lawyer, Justus Muhangi of Muhangi and Partners Advocates, stated that the forceful eviction is affecting approximately 32,000 households in Kabale, Rukiga, and Rubanda.
