About 20 years ago, there was almost no human settlement in Kinawataka Swamp but in recent times, few chunks of the Swamp have been reclaimed and it is slowly disappearing. Kinawataka Swamp neighbors Kasokoso Swamp, these are situated a few kilometers from the Head office of the Environment watchdog the National Environment Management Authority, NEMA in Kampala. Small permanent and semi-permanent structures built wall to wall dot an area that served as the key water catchment for Mbuya, Kireka, Mutungo, and parts of Nakawa.
According to NEMA, the encroachment has been gradual. Some of these people begin by cultivating in the Swamp which is allowable but not-long after. They claim ownership and they sell off the land to powerful well-connected people who can peddle their influence. Some of the encroachers are reportedly sent by rich people to test the waters before they can move in later. After acquiring land titles usually illegally, the rich then set up huge structures on the wetland and erect perimeter walls around. But sometimes nature fights back, water is finding its way through the foundation of the fence. “...there are also individuals who have gone on to acquiring that land in hope of compensation and that’s another lot of people. And as NEMA we don’t know their intentions. They are the ones and you find that they are the ones who own titles, several land titles there, they many of them.” Said, Dr. Tom Okurut – Executive Director, NEMA.
Yusuf Kasozi claimed to have lived in this Swamp for over 30 years now. “I am older than NEMA. How can such an organization remove us from our gardens?” And while we were there, this man showed us claiming his plot had been encroached upon. “Everyone here knows that I am the one who filled this area with soil. How dare you place a pole here?” “This man doesn’t know that he is daring a lion.”
The NEMA Chief explained that many encroachers often sprung up during the electoral period when politicians wanted to take soft chances to secure votes. “If you look at the story of what NEMA has done in terms of trying to protect Kinawataka, it has been substantial. Even before I came here, my predecessor did a lot of work, people were removed, and everything was secured. But every time, there is that 5-year circle there is always a challenge.” Said the Executive Director, NEMA. But besides politics, Wakiso district Chairman Matia Lwanga Bwanika blamed the district zonal leaders from the Ministry of Lands for the disappearing wetlands. He claimed that they had rendered the district land board useless. “Land matters, of course, is the management of the District according to the law but in reality, now, the land is now managed by the Ministry. And there is no enabling law of Ministerial zonal office and that is my argument. The Parliament should come up to say, okay me I am not saying the Ministry should not do whatever they do. If the government sees it that they should refer land matters to the Ministry so be it.” Said the Wakiso District Chairman.
But the Commissioner of Surveys and Mappings in Lands Ministry Wilson Ogaro disagreed. “The Ministry’s zonal office only handles what the district land office has processed, they receive the jobs from the district land office.” Said the Commissioner, Surveys & Mapping – Lands Ministry. “We cannot hire, we cannot fire them because it is not under our mandate. You cannot supervise for instance.” Said the Wakiso District Chairman. Bwanika said that the district land board was also constrained to act as effective due to poor funding and a limited mandate. “We have only one district surveyor, we don’t have a vehicle in the entire district land, we don’t have even a tool, and we have very few qualified land surveyors in as far as Uganda is concerned.” Said the Wakiso District Chairman. “They should work hand in hand with the Ministerial office if they want some services.” Said the Commissioner, Surveys & Mapping – Lands Ministry.
“Should we say the entire system has failed? Where you the Senior Supervisors who are supposed to supervise people at the lower level have also failed to do what you are supposed to do.” “The systems at the lower levels, they are the people who are our eyes.” Said the Commissioner, Surveys & Mapping – Lands Ministry. Although the Wakiso LC5 boss agreed, the district land Board played a role in allowing the encroachment of the wetlands, he claimed that there were no maps at the district showing where the Swamps lay. “They were taken by the center, so it is from there that they issue what we would call a plea. Now the plea will come with plot numbers, block numbers and the name, ours is just the bureaucracy of taking through the land board and district staff surveyor.” Said the Wakiso District Chairman. “In the Local Government, maybe that would be true but what is also true is that we have been providing the Local Government with digital information.” Said the Commissioner, Surveys & Mapping – Lands Ministry.
The Environmental Police had also found it hard to enforce the law to stop the encroachment of the wetland. “...we would not have known everything because these people have been keeping a lot of information for themselves but most of the wetlands in Wakiso and Kampala Metropolitan have been titled and thousands of wetlands are titled and now the Cabinet has now pronounced itself on this matter. We are just waiting for that time when they are counseled and then we see what action.” Said, Taire Idwege – Commissioner, Environmental Police Protecion.
