Uganda charcoal dealers under probe over SPLA-IO rebel funding
Reports presented during the meeting alleged that some traders bribe security personnel, including UPDF and police officers, as well as officials from the National Forestry Authority (NFA) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), to prevent charcoal trucks from being impounded.
At the meeting, Maj Gen Felix Busizoori, commander of the UPDF 4th Infantry Division, ordered investigations into allegations linked to involving security and government officials in Moyo, Yumbe, Koboko, Adjumani and Nwoya districts. ( Credit: Christopher Nyeko)
GULU - Security sources have revealed that the South Sudan government has accused some Ugandan charcoal dealers of extending their transactions to areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).
This, according to intelligence, raises concerns that the trade could be financially supporting the armed group.
The report was delivered during a cross-border security meeting between Ugandan and South Sudanese authorities, according to officials in Uganda.
The South Sudanese authorities reportedly told their Ugandan counterparts that traders from Uganda were buying charcoal from SPLA-IO-controlled areas around Kajo-Keji in South Sudan.
During the Tuesday, August 11 meeting at the 4th Division headquarters in Gulu city, the Ugandan military officers described the report as very serious since members of the rebel group have not received salary for the last two years.
The desperation confirms fears that purchasing charcoal from the group could be a lucrative source of income to support rebel activities.
The investigations are also expected to establish whether officials have been aiding the charcoal trade in breach of a 2023 presidential executive order banning commercial charcoal production in the West Nile and Acholi sub-regions.
Despite the ban, charcoal trading reportedly continues, with dealers allegedly operating through networks involving security personnel and government agencies.
Reports presented during the meeting alleged that some traders bribe security personnel, including UPDF and police officers, as well as officials from the National Forestry Authority (NFA) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), to prevent charcoal trucks from being impounded.
At a meeting with charcoal dealers at the 4th Infantry Division headquarters, Senyonjo Eria Bond, chairperson of the Uganda Charcoal Dealers Association, questioned how trucks loaded with charcoal could move from one point to another while passing through several security checkpoints without being intercepted.
Since the 2023 ban, traders are reportedly operating closer to the Uganda-South Sudan border, where charcoal is allegedly produced in Yumbe, Moyo and Koboko before being transported to South Sudan.
Busizoori said South Sudanese authorities specifically raised concerns that Ugandan traders were buying charcoal from areas under the control of rebel forces.
Meanwhile, Simon Tumwesigye, a regional customs officer with the Uganda Revenue Authority, said he had sought documentation relating to charcoal reportedly entering Uganda as an import from South Sudan but had not received satisfactory responses.
Officials also told the meeting that charcoal is classified as a non-importable good under the East African Community framework.
However, Docus Okello, chairperson of charcoal dealers in South Sudan, maintained that their activities were regulated and known to the South Sudanese government.
The dealers presented what they described as a memorandum of understanding with the South Sudan government, but the document was challenged by military officials during the meeting.
David Drisi, the Regional Internal Security Officer, said security investigations had established that some individuals were producing charcoal in Yumbe, Moyo and Koboko and transporting it to South Sudan while claiming that the charcoal was sourced from there.
The investigations are expected to establish the extent of the charcoal trade, the involvement of security and government officials, and whether charcoal purchased from South Sudan is providing financial support to the SPLA-IO.