The recent demolition of homes and evictions by the Uganda National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) in Kampala's Lubigi wetlands raises serious concerns about the fairness and legality of these actions.
While protecting environmentally sensitive wetlands is a valid goal, NEMA has pursued this objective in a highly selective and unjust manner, violating the rights of ordinary citizens.
The core issue is that NEMA has allowed large corporations and businesses, including oil depots, factories, and rice farms, to establish operations in these wetland areas. Meanwhile, poorer residents who have lived in the Lubigi wetlands for over a decade have been ruthlessly evicted.
This blatant double standard cannot be justified. The law is clearly not being applied equally, with NEMA showing favoritism towards powerful corporate interests over the livelihoods of vulnerable citizens. The right to life under Uganda's constitution encompasses the right to livelihood and shelter.
By demolishing the homes of these residents without providing adequate compensation or alternative housing, NEMA has deprived them of these fundamental rights. Many of the evicted are rural-urban migrants who moved to the city seeking employment opportunities.
Now, they have been rendered homeless and jobless, with little choice but to turn to crime and vagrancy for survival. Furthermore, NEMA's actions directly contradict the legal protections afforded to long-term occupants of land. Ugandan law stipulates that those who have occupied land for over 12 years are entitled to compensation when evicted.
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However, NEMA provided the Lubigi residents with just one month's notice before sending in armed police to forcibly demolish their homes. The selective nature of NEMA's enforcement is deeply troubling. While eagerly demolishing the modest homes of poor citizens, the authority has ignored large corporations that have destroyed massive tracts of wetlands and forests for profit-driven projects.
This raises serious questions about the underlying motivations and integrity of NEMA's operations. The evictions carried out by NEMA in Kampala's Lubigi wetlands represent a gross injustice and violation of human rights. The authority has applied the law unevenly, prioritizing the interests of the wealthy and powerful over the well-being of vulnerable citizens.
This must not be allowed to stand. NEMA must be held accountable, the evictions must be halted, and the rights and livelihoods of the affected residents must be restored. Only then can Uganda uphold the principles of equality and justice enshrined in its constitution.
