Residents Stranded As NEMA Ultimatum 21days Expires

Thousand of residents are stranded after the NEMA directive has expired to vacate the Namiro swamp in Entebbe. The directive was issued last month by the environmental authority executive director, Dr Tom Okurut to vacate the wetland along the newly created Expedito Nsubuga road. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) issued a 21days’ eviction notice to the occupants who encroached on the wetland where over 5000 people will be affected. NEMA ordered residents to vacate the wetland covering 1000 hectares from Kiwafu West to Lugonjo-Nakiwogo villages in Entebbe. Residents have been ordered to vacate with all their property including permanent houses, churches, nursery schools plus others. Residents have been occupying the wetland since 2006 and in 2013, the municipal authorities threatened to evict the residents. In a heated meeting with residents, the former area parliamentarian Muhammad Kawuma pinned Mayor Vicent Kayanja Depaul over a fishy deal of an investor. And since then no development to that affect till last month when NEMA woke up after down the road. NEMA findings indicate that the wetland has be continuously degraded including depositing murram, erecting illegal structures, fencing and obstructing public access to the wetland. This follows after the NEMA commissioner   in charge of wetlands and environment Collins Oloya writing a letter dated 29^th November 2018 to the local authorities  to residents to vacate the  swamp  stretching from  Nakiwogo landing site through  Lugonjo to Kigungu.(By Our reporter)