TALKING TOUGH! KCCA ED reads riot act to tycoons, gov’t bosses with interests in Kampala wetlands
By Moses Oketayot
Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) has vowed to go tough on tycoons and government bosses encroaching wetlands within its areas of jurisdiction. Akin to reading a riot act, the Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka says moving forward KCCA will not issue permissions to build in wetlands and any such action is illegal.
She was responding to our recently published story naming tycoons, government bosses with land titles in the Kinawataka wetland belt.
“Building in wetlands is strictly prohibited by a presidential directive and can’t be condoned by KCCA at all. We need to amplify this message through every media platform. KCCA will not issue permissions to build in wetlands and any such action is illegal. Our Physical Planning Committee and our Building Committee are very strict on this issue,” she told this publication.
The title holders in the Kinawataka wetland belt have been urged to attend the public hearing scheduled for 29th September without fail, and to come with their documents supporting their claim of ownership of the said land according to Bigira B. Johnson, on behalf of the Commissioner Land Registration at the ministry of lands, housing and urban development.
Top among the list of businessmen with land titles in the wetland are Sudhir Rupareila through his Meera Investment Limited whereby he has seven free hold land titles within the belt i.e. Plot 2 Hill crescent Banda Kampala, Plot 4 hill crescent also located in Banda and five more plots within the area.
The proprietor of Next Media services Kin Ibrahim Karisa and wife Juliet Tumusiime Karisa also have a freehold title Plot 42 Lake drive land in Luzira Kampala. Other notable names include Seroma Limited with Plot 2A located in Butabika, Moses Mayanja with Plot 5 Peninsula Close, Mukunda Aggrey Sanyu with Plots 6 and Aqua Close, former Director of Budget Kenneth Mugambe with Plot 94 Lake Drive Nakawa, Cissy Nanyanzi with Plot6A Butabika Road, Kataali Rogers with Plot4-5 Aqua Close in Luzira, Emmanuel Gasaana with Plot 4 Butabika Valley Access, Mulungi Aisha with Plots 2-3 Butabika Valley Road, among many others.
President Museveni has on different occasions issued warnings directing people to vacate wetlands, but this has met hindrances.
The Minister of Presidency Milly Babalanda Babirye on 14th August, 2022 issued a circular reminding RDCs and RCCs of the presidential directive asking them to rid wetlands of all encroachers.According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, the national area of wetlands declined by 30% between 1994 and 2008, and in 2014 there was an increase in area under wetlands. This has been a meager 0.03% increase from 26,307km2 in 2008 to 26,315km2 in 2014 (MWE2014).
The report also shows that the area under wetlands in the different river basins is on the decline. The extent of decline varies from over 53.8% in the Lake Victoria basin to 14.7% in the Lake Albert drainage basin.
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