Police used teargas to block Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, from touring the Lubigi wetland site where the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) recently evicted over 1,000 residents for illegally occupying the wetlands.
Ssenyonyi who was accompanied by some local leaders and Members of Parliament from both Kampala and Wakiso districts on Monday visited the site of the demolition of homes and other structures that are said to have been illegally built in the Lubigi Wetland.
After addressing residents, Ssenyonyi moved to start touring the wreckage but the Police moved swiftly to block him.
The two groups engaged in an exchange that lasted five minutes before teargas canisters were thrown to disburse the residents who were protesting the Police’s actions.
Following the scuffle, Parliament security whisked Ssenyonyi off to safety and drove off while the other residents were seen running to safety.
The blockage followed an earlier address Ssenyonyi made to the residents, where he protested the discriminatory nature NEMA had taken in wetland evictions, wondering why factories are allowed to build in wetlands, while residents are being ruthlessly evicted from Lubigi without any discussions or notices issued ahead of the evictions.
“I have passed by the same place and there is still a Police station and fuel stations, so if the evictions are going on, why should they discriminate? There are known wetlands in Uganda that are full of factories, these ones aren’t being bothered. Perhaps it is because the owners of these businesses have connections to the Government or they are employed in the Government. That is why we are asking ourselves, why discriminate among citizens in Uganda?” said Ssenyonyi.
The Leader of Opposition urged the residents to fight all forms of human rights violations, saying evictions of this nature don’t discriminate against political affiliations, citing the recent kidnap of the lawmaker, Paul Akamba (Busiki County) who was ruthlessly kidnapped just after being given bail by the court, saying when such matters were raised, they were dismissed as merely oppositions attempts to politick.
“These issues of evictions don’t discriminate against political affiliations, these issues of violating the rights of Ugandans don’t bother about your political parties because when such a day comes, you all face the wrath. We have been raising concerns about human rights violations and for a long, our concerns have been ignored because they are raised by members of the National Unity Platform (NUP), now recently, you saw one MP, Paul Akamba was given bail but later kidnapped, but this is the same issue we raised with Muhammad Ssegirinya (Kawempe North) and the NRM MPs didn’t seem concerned. But now, the same issue came right to their doorsteps,” said Ssenyonyi.
“When you compare what happened at the Anti-Corruption Court and what happened here, we are all concerned. I have been told some of you have been here for 5 years, some 10 years, yet there is a gentleman who said he has lived here for 26 years. But you spent all this time and constructed when the Government was watching. And some of you established businesses within these premises and have been paying taxes. So if the Government says these people have occupied these premises illegally, why leave them built and stay for this long and collect taxes from businesses established on illegal premises?” he asked.
The Leader of the Opposition also revealed that he held a discussion with Barirega Akankwasah, Executive Director of NEMA and asked him to hold discussions with residents and reach common ground before such evictions are carried, other than taking eviction decisions in their cool offices without first assessing the situation on the ground.
“I even asked him if they had held discussions with you people and I cautioned him that as NEMA, it isn’t good for the officials to sit in their offices and work on remote control. These are Ugandans and you have been collecting taxes from them, why not go on the ground and hold talks with them? You listen to them and they also listen to you so that you have a point of convergence instead of unleashing Police on the locals who ended up destroying people’s property.”
He added: “I told the NEMA Executive Director that there is a lot of destruction that has taken place and there are more places that have been marked for eviction, I asked him to allow us to hold a meeting with the local leaders around Lubigi, also representatives from the people who have been evicted so that they listen to you. And I assured him that these people are Ugandans, that is why they aren’t in the bush hiding, so before anything else happens, let this meeting be held. Have they ever held meetings with you? That is what I am against, I don’t want these people to operate on remote control.”
