Turkish national fined Shs200m for dumping murram in wetland
Karim Ray (right) and his co-accused, Eric Avunalo, appear before the Standards, Wildlife and Utilities Court in Kampala on July 16, 2024 . PHOTO/ JULIET KIGONGO
A court in Kampala on July 16 sentenced a Turkish national to a fine of Shs200m after he pleaded guilty to clearing vegetation and eventually dumping murram in a wetland, an action contrary to environmental laws.
Karim Ray, 53, the director of Yaman International Limited who appeared before the Standards, Wildlife and Utilities Court in Kampala, will in default be jailed for five years.
While sentencing Karim, Chief Magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu held that there is a need to send a stern warning against those abusing wetlands, a habit she said is on the rise.
“I agree with the state that these acts are on the increase and there is a need to stop the virus. Wetlands filter water by retaining solid waste, reducing the impact of flooding, reduce the speed of flow of water. Wetlands are homes for aquatic life and when murram is deposited in wetlands, they are suffocated, which comes with a lot of consequences to humans and nature,” Ms Kamasanyu added.
Adding: “The convicts in this case pleaded guilty and did not waste the court’s time and other resources. They do not deserve maximum punishments. However, they deserve to be helped to change and the punishments should send a message out there to all those who have not yet been arrested.”
The magistrate also ordered Karim to restore the wetland within 30 days.
Breaking down the sentence, Mr Karim will pay a fine of Shs150m for failure to comply with conditions stipulated in the certificate of approval and he will equally pay Shs50m in count two for having deposited murram in a wetland.
His co-accused is Mr Eric Avunalo, a manager of Rock Build Investment Limited, who was sentenced to a caution upon entering his plea of guilt.
The trial chief magistrate held that Mr Avunalo was not aware that the area he was back-filing was not approved.
They pleaded guilty to the two charges of failure to comply with the conditions stipulated in the certificate of approval of a project brief of environmental and social impact assessment and depositing the murram in a section of Lwajali wetland system measuring 0.8acreas without authorization from the lead Agency contrary to the National Environment Act.
According to the court documents on June 14, 2024, Karim’s concrete construction company was issued with an Environmental Impact Assessment Certificate to put his project on 0.4 acres. However, upon inspection, it was found out that he had cleared 2.1 acres and backfilled it with murram.
It was the prosecution case that on June 30, 2024, at Gongobe Village, Seeta Parish, Goma Division in Mukono District, he failed to comply with condition 4(iii) of the Environment and Social Impact Assessment Certificate Number 18516 issued to Yaman Construction Limited by extending beyond the area authorised in the certificate of approval.
The prosecution further stated that the duo deposited murram into a section of Lwajali wetland system measuring 0.8 acres without authorisation from the lead agency.
