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Residents arrest man over cutting down 120-year-old trees
Jinja City Environment Authorities load the logs of mvule tress at Bridge Avenue after they were illegally cut down. PHOTO | DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
- Mr Fred Mulero who spearheaded the arrest of Ziwa said these trees have been revered by residents and have a great attachment to them to the extent that even when they were expanding the municipality roads, the engineers made sure they dodged the trees.
Residents of Nalufenya A village in Jinja West Ward have arrested a businessman for cutting down two mvule trees.
The locals accused Mr Zziwa Mayanja of destroying the environment and city heritage trees planted by colonialists in 1902.
The suspect was handed over to Nalufenya Police Station with preferred charges of illegal felling of trees and destruction of the environment while the logs were been taken to the City Stores.
Mr Fred Mulero who spearheaded the arrest of Ziwa said these trees have been revered by residents and have a great attachment to them to the extent that even when they were expanding the municipality roads, the engineers made sure they dodged the trees.
“The men hired to fell the trees survived lynching by concerned residents and abandoned their tools as they fled, and we have handed them to police as exhibits,” he said.
The area LC1 chairperson, Mr Saad Katemba, said that these trees have been tourist attractions and a physical reminder not only of Semei Kakungulu’s colonial legacy in the climate change campaign, but also a welcome sight to the source of the Nile.
The Jinja Deputy Resident City Commissioner, Mr Peter Banya, condemned the action of cutting down historical trees and vowed to pursue the matter with keen interest.
“I received a call from one of the residents that some people were cutting historical trees and residents were going to lynch them. I rushed to the scene and found when the residents had arrested Zziwa,” he said.
The Jinja Central Division Mayor, Mr Nasser Ashraf, commended the residents for their vigilance to protect their environment.
“These trees are valued at 30 million each and we are asking our environment department to liaise with Police and also work on how best these trees can be replaced and protected,” he said.
