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NFA staff arrested over illegal felling
Police and the National Forest Authority (NFA) officers arrest Charcoal burners at Buwunge Forest Reserve in Bufumira Sub-county in October 2021. PHOTO/DAVID SEKAYINGA
What you need to know:
The arrested individuals include the District NFA Sector Manager, the Mugoye Forest Supervisor, and four forest patrollers. The arrests followed an inspection by local officials who discovered significant forest destruction.
Six workers from the National Forestry Authority (NFA) office in Kalangala District have been arrested for masterminding illegal logging in the Kubanda Forest Reserve.
The suspects include the Kalangala District NFA Sector Manager, the Mugoye Forest Supervisor, and four forest patrollers.
According to the Southern Regional Police Spokesperson, Mr Twaha Kasirye, the arrests took place last Thursday after an inspection of the Kubanda Forest Reserve by Ms Eve Mwesiga, the Kalangala
Resident District Commissioner (RDC); Ms Esther Nekesa, the Regional NFA manager; and an environmental police team. They witnessed the extent of the forest’s destruction.
“We have the suspects at Kalangala Central Police Station to respond to allegations from the locals, under file number SD 022/2024.
The locals accuse them of being behind the illegal tree cutting in Kubanda Forest Reserve near Mutambala Landing Site in Mugoye Sub[1]county,” Mr Kasirye said.
During a meeting at Mutambala Landing Site, convened by Ms Mwesiga and Ms Nekesa, residents accused NFA workers of destroying the forest and shifting the blame onto them.
“I had gone to the forest to get some firewood. When they found me there, I was arrested and accused of cutting trees in the forest reserve,” Mr Yasin Semujju, a resident, said.
“I was also arrested on allegations that I destroyed young trees while picking firewood,” complained another resident, Mr Godfrey Ssentamu.
Mr Sulait Kafeero, the Mutambala Village chairperson, stated that earlier this month, non-residents camped in the Kubanda Forest Reserve for two weeks, cutting down trees.
However, when residents went to collect firewood, NFA workers arrested them, falsely claiming they were responsible for the logging.
Mr Rajab Semakula, the district chairperson, noted that Kalangala’s forest cover is rapidly disappearing under the current NFA Sector Manager’s watch.
Ms Mwesiga announced plans to instruct ferry and vessel managers in Kalangala to stop allowing trucks loaded with timber without clear documentation from her office.
In Executive Order No. 3, dated May 24, 2023, President Museveni directed that only factories processing timber within Uganda for plywood, furniture, and other value-added products, should operate, and must have sustainable tree planting and harvesting plans.
In Kalangala, private foresters must apply to cut trees, and the request must include the acreage and the village chairperson’s signature.
The RDC, District Internal Security Officer (ISO), a representative from the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), NFA, and the District Police Commander (DPC) must inspect the forest before tree[1]cutting is allowed.
Additionally, the district security committee resolved that timber transporters must obtain clearance letters from the DISO, RDC, and District Forestry Officer (DFO) to move truckloads of timber out of Kalangala islands.
Many forests in the district have been replaced with palm oil plantations and rice gardens, while several businessmen have invested in illegal timber cutting.
Statistics indicate that out of the 31 forest reserves in the area, 17 have been depleted.
