The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has called for the immediate suspension of ongoing wetland eviction exercises across Uganda, accusing the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) of discriminatory enforcement that disproportionately affects poor communities while allegedly sparing wealthy land users and commercial operators.
The party made the demand on Monday while addressing journalists in Kampala, where FDC Vice Chairperson Robert Centenary said the current enforcement drive had exposed what he termed unequal application of environmental protection laws.
“Factories and rice farms that belong to the rich sit undisturbed in the same wetlands where ordinary citizens are being chased away. The poor are being evicted while the rich and powerful are protected,” Centenary said.
The opposition party questioned why certain commercial developments continue to operate in protected wetland areas despite past acknowledgements by NEMA officials that some structures were exempt from demolition due to prior government approvals.
Centenary argued that many of the affected residents had settled or developed land after receiving clearance from government agencies and should not now be treated as illegal encroachers.
“NEMA should demarcate all protected wetlands with clear boundaries. Those boundaries must be publicly accessible and mapped at local government level so that any person applying for a building permit, buying land, or seeking a business licence can verify the status of that land in advance,” he said.
FDC further accused government of ignoring legal protections for long-term occupants under existing land legislation and faulted NEMA for rejecting compensation for those being evicted.
The party argued that provisions under the Land Act and Limitation Act protect bona fide occupants and urged that the Land Fund be used to support displaced families.
“We demand that government deploy Land Fund resources to compensate those being displaced, particularly the most vulnerable,” Centenary said.
FDC called for an immediate halt to all wetland evictions until boundaries are properly demarcated and gazetted, compensation is provided to those who settled under government-issued approvals, and enforcement is applied equally regardless of wealth or political influence.
The party also urged authorities to comply with court orders and observe due process in all ongoing and future enforcement operations.
