- The campaigners are concerned that the report does not indicate that Hoima Sugar Limited and MZ Agencies Limited are in the forest reserve, yet they were also given land by Bunyoro - Kitara Kingdo
- According to the report, Bugoma Forest land is around 39000 hectares and not 41,142 hectares that were gazetted'
- There are 33 villages that live around Bugoma forest that have been affected by the destruction of the forest socially and economically.
Image: Gloria Nakiyimba
Conservationists have tasked the government to re-think its position on the Bugoma Central Forest Reserve giveaway and land grab in Kikuube District.
Dickens Kamugisha, the chairperson of the Save Bugoma Forest campaign, is asking the government to cancel all the illegal and fraudulent land titles in forested and protected reserves, while at the same time reconsidering conducting another independent survey and boundary opening exercise in Bugoma.
A leaked report on the boundary opening of the forest in the Midwestern region failed to address whether or not the Hoima Sugar factory and other land claimants as well as title holders are within the forest reserve.
“If you look at this report, it does not have a conclusion on what should be done. Yet the surveyors were asked to make sure that they were open and ensure that Bugoma’s forest land was there. They have also listed several customary claimants who were given land by the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom. The report does not explain how Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom entered into the forest to award over 20 people hectares and hectares of land. That one is not coming out,” said Kamugisha.
The campaigners are concerned that the report does not indicate that Hoima Sugar Limited and MZ Agencies Limited are in the forest reserve, yet they were also given land by Bunyoro - Kitara Kingdom.
“So what coincidence that only those who do not have titles are said to be within the forest reserve, the ones who have titles and were given titles by the lands ministry and survey are not even talked about whether or not are in the forest” he stated.
According to the report, Bugoma Forest land is around 39000 hectares and not 41,142 hectares that were gazetted.
“The surveyors are not explaining where the 1600 hectares are today. And they are not also telling us what should be done to the customary claimants who are already located in the forest reserve,” he wondered.
Godfrey Twesigye, the Chief Executive Officer of the Water and Environment Media Network – Uganda (WEMNET-U) said: “While we appreciate the exercise, we note that it falls short of expectations and does not solve the issues at hand. The government’s failure to definitively address the encroachment issues is concerning to us. We demand a thorough investigation to ensure the conservation of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve”.
The Crusaders under their Save Bugoma Forest Campaign have now listed gaps within the report and demanded that the government must address them.
They demanded that the boundary survey report show whether Bugoma forest still exists, and if not, which part of the forest is remaining because we have to preserve Bugoma forest as it is and not use the boundary opening exercise as an excuse for cutting parts of the tropical rainforest.
“… the government should tackle corruption which is a bottleneck to conservation efforts. We are calling for the prosecution of people issuing illegal certificates of titles in the forest reserve land without following the due process of the law,” Twesigye said.
The survey was commissioned in 2020 following a cabinet directive to the Ministry of Water and Environment and it was conducted by the surveyors from the Ministry of Lands as a measure to solve the prolonged legal disputes and land grabbing of the forest situated in the Albertine region.
The report in dispute was compiled and sent to the Ministry of Water and Environment in November 2023, a year after the conclusion of the boundary opening exercise in August 2022.
Kamugisha said: “That is why we think that this report is a sham. If the government wants to save this forest, they need to ensure that an independent survey is done and there is a time frame within which it is done”
He said that 33 villages living around the Bugoma forest have been affected by the destruction of the forest socially and economically.
According to Kamugisha, the people within the communities have a limited space to air out their grievances because those who challenge the illegal giveaway of forest land are intimidated and harassed with trumped-up charges.
About the report
The report in dispute indicates that a total of 23 claimants among them the National Forestry Authority (NFA) have different documents as proof of ownership of forest land.
However, the NFA is the legally mandated institution of the government to manage all the Central forest reserves across the country in trust on behalf of the people of Uganda.
Other claimants include sugar firm; Hoima Sugar Limited and MZ Agencies Limited as well as individuals and politicians within the area.