Farmers inspect some of the gardens which were reportedly destroyed by security personnel near the Kawumpa forest in Kiwumpa Village in Masaka District. PHOTO/ANTONIO KALYANGO
Leaders in Masaka District have raised concern over encroachment on a section of the Kiwumpa Forest land in Kiwumpa Village, Kyannamukaaka Sub- County.
Speaking to Monitor on Monday, the leaders blamed the issue on the recent boundary demarcation of Mujuzi Central Forest Reserve by the National Forestry Authority (NFA).
The land being encroached on was once part of the 6,079 hectares of Mujuzi Central Forest Reserve but the boundary demarcation excluded Kiwumpa forest land from the reserve, which some of the encroachers say makes it public land and they are free to use it for farming.
Ms Rose Nakyejjwe, the Masaka District natural resources officer, accused the residents in Kiwumpa Village of taking advantage of the boundary demarcation exercise to destroy the forest.
“This is a natural forest and remains under Masaka District Local Government. People living adjacent to the forest want to take control of the forest land to establish gardens. This land is not free. It remains a natural forest land under Masaka District Local Government,” she said.
Last week, an operation led by Masaka District Forest Officer, Mr Willy Bbaale, in collaboration with the Environment Protection Police, was conducted to arrest the encroachers. However, it was unsuccessful as the encroachers fled into the forest.
Mr Bbaale said the district has not degazetted the area for any purpose.
“A case of forest degeneration has been registered at Masaka Central Police against Mr Kiiza Bosco and others,” Mr Bbaale said.
Ms Esther Nekesa, the NFA range manager for Sangobay area, advised the Masaka District Land Board to take action and recommend to the Council and Parliament that the contested forest section be designated as a local forest to prevent further disputes.
“NFA conducted boundary reopening and surveying. The process confirmed the section is out of Mujuzi Central Forest Reserve,” she said.
Some residents, however, claim they have been using part of the land for many years and criticised what they called heavy-handed actions of district officials and police.
They said during the operation to arrest encroachers, crops such as coffee, passion fruits, watermelons, and banana plantations were destroyed.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Paul Musoke, a resident of Kiwumpa Village, said the land is not forest land and accused the district, along with the NFA, of attempting to intimidate them in order to grab the land.
Ms Rosette Nakate, a farmer in Kiwumpa, said: “Farming is the source of livelihood for our respective families and stopping us from accessing our gardens and destroying our crops fraudulently is unacceptable. We shall defend ourselves.”
A security team, led by the Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Mr Robert Kambugu, visited the area early this week to assess the situation. Mr Kambugu promised that the matter would be thoroughly investigated to reach a logical conclusion.
