Individuals threaten to disrupt roadworks on Lwajali swamp
Excavation works at Lwajali transborder swamp, which connects Mukono and Luweero districts. PHOTO/DAN WANDERA
What you need to know:
According to Mr Deogratius Mwesigye, the site engineer for Continum Engineering Company, which is undertaking the construction works, a man who allegedly identified himself as Karangwa recently drew a gun at their workers claiming compensation for a wetland area, where he owns a passion fruit garden.
Individuals are claiming ownership of land on the Luweero- Mukono transborder wetland, where road renovations are ongoing.
The two-kilometre road stretch through Lwajali swamp is among the roads whose contracts were recently approved by Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra ) for major repairs and upgrading.
According to Mr Deogratius Mwesigye, the site engineer for Continum Engineering Company, which is undertaking the construction works, a man who allegedly identified himself as Karangwa recently drew a gun at their workers claiming compensation for a wetland area, where he owns a passion fruit garden.
Contractor’s fears
“Our scope of work is to improve the road drainage works and construct the 1.9km road stretch through the Lwajali wetland area ,but we are working under threat from individuals that claim to own part of the wetland areas,” he said on Sunday.
He said they have engaged local leaders to talk to individuals claiming part of the wetland area, but this has not yielded results.
“The man who pulled out a gun threatened to destroy our machines if the government fails to compensate him for his land. We did not anticipate such challenges when Unra handed us the road works project in October 2021,” he added.
But Ms Phiona Nalutaya, a Unra field engineer, said the roadworks at the wetland have no provision for compensation.
“We did not anticipate any inconvenience from individuals demanding compensation in a wetland. We have not interacted with the individual that threatened to harm the workers on site, but we believe the district leaders know him and can talk to him over the matter,” she said .
The district chairperson, Mr Erustus Kibirango, said any individual claiming ownership of land in a gazetted wetland is acting selfishly since wetlands are owned by the government.
“It is unfortunate that the gentleman only identified as Karangwa decided to confront the workers at the construction site. I do not believe that he is a genuine claimant for land in a wetland,” Mr Kibirango said.
“He has not presented his claim at any other office for compensation. We need to support the contractors to accomplish the roadworks as scheduled,” he added.
Background
Last year , Unra contracted Continum Engineering Company to upgrade the Lwajali trans-border wetland road stretch at Shs15.8b. Scope of the road works for the 1.9km road stretch that links Kabimbiri Village in Mukono District to Zirobwe Sub-county in Luweero includes the rock fill through the swamp, raising the road surface above the water level, installing drainage box culverts and reducing the former road curve through the swamp. The road works are expected to be completed next January.
