Loggers bring down Zoka Forest as officials bicker

The failure to stop the deforestration  for charcoal burning is blamed on the infighting among government agencies such as the National Forestry Authority (NFA), the district forest officials and Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Such conflicts climaxed on July 1, when an NFA field supervisor, Mr Stephen Ojambo, was beaten by more than 200 loggers and charcoal dealers at Buganda Trading Centre in Itirikwa Sub-county.

Four police officers, who were guarding Mr Ojambo, were also put under arrest.

“I was from the field but decided to pass the trading centre. I did not know that a top leader of the district had issued a statement that I should be arrested,”  Mr Ojama said.

He said about five boda boda cyclists waylaid him and blocked his vehicle before the locals approached him. 

The group allegedly pounced on him before conficating the charcoal he had impounded.

“The locals shouted, don’t kill him! Wait for the chairman who directed for his arrest, this is the man who always takes away our charcoal,” he recalled.

 It took two and half hour (4:00pm to 6:30pm) before Uganda People’s Defence Forces came to his rescue.

This is just one of the challenges NFA officials fighting the cartels involved in deforestations go through. It’s, however, the third attack in Zoka Forest and the neighbouring communities in a span of two years.

The Adjumani District chairperson, Mr Ben Anyama,  however, accused Mr Ojambo of confiscating charcoal and carrying out unnecessary arrests of the locals felling trees from private farms.

Mr Anyama confirmed to the acting environmental police commander, Mr Simon Peter Okochie, who is in the district to oversee the fight against environmental degradation that he had issued instructions to have Mr Ojambo arrested.

He said he had received several complaints from the community that Mr Ojambo was allegedly arresting locals and taking away the charcoal they harvest from their private farms.

“He was crossing the boundary since his role was restricted to monitoring the central forest reserves,” he said at the weekend .

Mr Anyama made the same submission before the security committee headed by the Resident District Commissioner, Mr Data Peter Taban.

“The police on the other hand is working. They are staging five road blocks per every ten kilometres to arrest [illegal] charcoal dealers and timber loggers,” Mr Anyama said.

Mr Ojambo, however, said he was being witch hunted for his  fight against the loggers.  

“I know these are some of the challenges we go through. My duty is to stop destruction of forests and they don’t want locals who are involved to be arrested. NFA works with policemen to halt this illegal business,” he said.

Mr Taban said the fight to stop logging and charcoal business is being jeopardised by government agencies.

He described it as a complicated matter saying UWA at one time put NFA officials under gunpoint in Adjumani for overstepping their boundary.

The RDC said different tree species in Zoka Forest have been cut down.

“We warned the district forest officer during a security committee meeting to stop issuing permits to charcoal dealers just to get revenue,” Mr Taban said.

He said the security committee is also investigating his deputy over alleged [involvement in charcoal business].

Mr William Amazuru, who heads Friends of Zoka, an environmental activist organisation, said leaders in Adjumani should stop conspiring with wrong elements who are bringing down the forest.

“It’s time for leaders to account. This is the time to stop conspiracy!” he said.

Mr Amazuru said they held a meeting with community leaders on July 1 to sensitise the locals about conservation. 

He said he had witnessed on many occasions the security interplay where trucks loaded with logs and charcoal are impounded and later released after phone calls from higher authorities.

“Everyone is living in fear and for how long will these be? Some of us have cases in police. Today, we cannot speak about this issue because we feel our security is at stake,”  Mr Amazuru said.

Mr Okochie said they are having talks with district leaders and the security team.   “We are here to harmonise work to stop this degradation,” he said.

A group of environmental police are patrolling the forest to arrest loggers, but none of them has so far been repremanded.

“It’s not easy to walk on foot five to ten kilometre inside the forest,”  the Assistant Inspector of Police, Ms Betty Lapeyok, who is commanding the operation, said.

She, however, said police had impounded many power saws used to fell trees.

Last year, the First Deputy Prime minister, Gen Moses Ali, vowed serious consequences over Zoka . His passion has since died off.

2021 crime report

The Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crimes report 2021 faulted the army and police for abetting logging and charcoal businesses.

The report says from 2015 until present, Zoka Forest in Adjumani, has witnessed heavy deployment of environmental police and military to protect the forest from encroachment but in vain.

The report also implicated district leaders on corruption such as receiving bribes to allow easy movement of charcoal and logs.

APAA LAND issue

Others groups are also cutting down trees in the contested Apaa land for charcoal burning. More than 7,000 households were evicted from the land, which is claimed by the two districts of Adjumani and Amuru as well as the Uganda Wildlife Authority. 

Some of the evicted people have since returned to the land and are cutting down trees and clearing the land for human activities.

Mr Anyama wondered why government was not interested in resolving the land conflict yet it is aiding the depletion of natural resources both in the gazetted and non gazetted areas. 

“I am surprised that since 1998 to date while serving in the civil service, the matter is still unresolved.  I think there are people with hidden motives behind this Apaa land,” Mr Anyama said.