KCC razes house built in wetland

Aug 27, 2003

KAMPALA City Council (KCC) has demolished a building in Bugolobi to halt encroachment on the Nakivubo swamp, which filters wastewater before it enters Lake Victoria.

By Gerald Tenywa

KAMPALA City Council (KCC) has demolished a building in Bugolobi to halt encroachment on the Nakivubo swamp, which filters wastewater before it enters Lake Victoria.

KCC law enforcement department and the Police also arrested the site engineer, Waliggo. He was charged in a city court. The building was earlier razed twice.
Phoebe Gubya, the KCC environment officer yesterday said Nakawa division carried out the demolition of the house without her endorsement.

She said a recent ministerial directive to protect Kampala’s vital swamps could not be executed because it did not provide for compensation of the land and house owners.

Paul Mafabi, the assistant commissioner in-charge of the Wetlands Inspection Division (WID), blamed KCC for laxity in enforcing the law. He said KCC continued to approve building plans in the wetlands.

“We will break down more houses. But we have to begin by discouraging new encroachment on the swamp,’’ Mafabi said
He said plans were underway to gazette the Nakivubo swamp as a protected area for purification of water.

Mafabi said the swamp was being destroyed by industries, human settlements and growers of yams.
The new swamp boundaries have been adjusted to favour rich property owners who have encroached on the natural boundaries of the swamp at Bugolobi.

He said the Nakivubo swamp had suffered encroachment over the years and its distance from the lake has declined from 4.8 kilometres to three. “If nothing is done, we shall soon be mining water from filth because Ggaba Water Works is three kilometres from Murchison bay,’’ Mafabi said.

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