LUBIGI|The Leader of Opposition in parliament, Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi was on Monday blocked by police from touring the Lubigi wetland site, where over 1,000 residents were recently evicted by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) for allegedly illegally occupying the wetlands.
Ssenyonyi, accompanied by local leaders and Members of Parliament from Kampala and Wakiso districts, had visited the site to assess the demolition of homes and structures deemed illegally built in the wetland.
“The people of Lubigi wetland have been treated unfairly,” Ssenyonyi said. “NEMA has been selective in its enforcement of the environmental laws, allowing factories to operate in wetlands while evicting residents without notice or discussion.”
After addressing residents, Ssenyonyi attempted to tour the area, but police intervened, leading to a brief confrontation. Teargas was deployed, and parliamentary security personnel whisked Ssenyonyi away to safety.
“This is a clear example of the government’s disregard for the rights of its citizens,” Ssenyonyi said later. “We will not stand by and watch as our people are mistreated. We demand justice for the people of Lubigi wetland.”
The Leader of Opposition urged the residents to fight all forms of human rights violations, saying evictions of this nature don’t discriminate against political affiliations, citing the recent kidnap of the lawmaker, Paul Akamba (Busiki County) who was ruthlessly kidnapped just after being given bail by the court, saying when such matters were raised, they were dismissed as merely oppositions attempts to politick.
According to the leader of opposition Joel senyonyi, the issues of evictions don’t discriminate against political affiliations, noting that it affects everyone regardless of your political party. “We have been raising concerns about human rights violations and for a long, our concerns have been ignored because they are raised by members of the National Unity Platform (NUP), now recently, you saw one MP, Paul Akamba was given bail but later kidnapped, but this is the same issue we raised with Muhammad Ssegirinya (Kawempe North) and the NRM MPs didn’t seem concerned. But now, the same issue came right to their doorsteps,” said Ssenyonyi.
“When you compare what happened at the Anti-Corruption Court and what happened here, we are all concerned. I have been told some of you have been here for 5 years, some 10 years, yet there is a gentleman who said he has lived here for 26 years. But you spent all this time and constructed when the Government was watching. And some of you established businesses within these premises and have been paying taxes. So if the Government says these people have occupied these premises illegally, why leave them built and stay for this long and collect taxes from businesses established on illegal premises?” he asked.
