Over 100 residents evicted from wetland

By Dismus Buregyeya   

The Environment Police have evicted over 100 residents  encroaching on Kayilikiti wetland in Masaka Municipality.

The Army veterans’ motor washing bay station which was operating in the wetland was among those evicted by the Environment Police led by the Southern Regional Environment Police officer, Willy Panuha on Wednesday.

The Masaka Municipal Council Environment officer, Pauline Nabadda, said the affected residents were given notice to vacate in January this year.

Nabadda said the affected residents had encroached on the wetland for over 10 years where some of them even claim they had acquired land titles.

Projects including bricklaying and commercial passion fruit growing and farming have been affected by the eviction exercise 

Police also rounded up animals which were grazing in the wetland.

The residents pleaded to recover their animals on grounds that they believed the notice for eviction only applied to crops.

District authorities raised a budget of sh2m to revamp the affected wetlands.

The Masaka Municipal Town Clerk, Johnson Baryantuma, had earlier warned residents encroaching on Nakayiba and Nabajuzi wetland that they would be arrested and prosecuted.