Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, says the regime is bound to make a regrettable mistake if the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) persists in evicting people who settled in the wetlands.
Bobi said on Friday that he had learnt that the environmental regulator intends to evict residents of Nabweru and Kasokoso and that if it does so, the regime will risk “creating a crisis that they might regret”.
“We have heard that NEMA intends to carry out a similar operation in Kasokoso and Nabweru, among other areas. If it does not learn from its mistakes in Lubigi, the regime risks creating a crisis it may regret,” he said.
He expressed concern and condemned the recent evictions carried out by NEMA in Lubigi, saying that the victims should have been given land elsewhere or compensated before the evictions.
“Whether NEMA is right or wrong, it should have carried out the evictions in a humane manner that took into account the dignity and economic status of the victims. At the very least, the victims should have been allocated land elsewhere or at least compensated before they were forced to abandon lands that many of them had occupied long before this government came to power,” he added.
Their concern comes at a time when residents of Bwaise, Nabweru and Kasokoso fear eviction by NEMA. The regulatory body is said to have marked some of the buildings it intends to vacate. Last month, the agency met with the mayor to discuss the way forward.
However, NEMA said it will make no concessions when it comes to people settling in the wetlands. The evictions are part of its activities aimed at protecting and preserving the environment.
Last month, the Buganda Land Board said in a statement on social media that they have always warned people with land in wetlands to seek approval from NEMA before building structures on their land. The post was in response to criticism of the board for failing to protect Lubigi residents, even though they have always paid taxes (obusulo) to it.
