Kiboga - AT LEAST 2,500 residents who have illegally been living in forest reserves in Kiboga District are panicing after receiving eviction orders from the National Forest Authority.

Kiboga Resident District Commissioner(RDC) James Sserunjogi said the affected residents are those living in Kibaale Forest Reserve in Kibiga Sub-county and Sirimula forest reserve in Ntwetwe Sub-county.
 
He said the residents had already petitioned President Yoweri Museveni, through their area MPs; Ndawula Kawesa for Kiboga West and Ruth Nankabirwa, district Woman MP calling for his urgent intervention.

Ms Nankabirwa is also State Minister for Defence.

"NFA officials have already destroyed crops belonging to people who are living in the forest reserves without informing us area leaders. This is totally wrong because NFA is there to ensure the well being of Ugandans. Why do they evict them without our knowledge," Mr Sserunjogi asked.

Some of the affected residents who Daily Monitor found at the RDC's office claimed that they had lived on the land since 1975 and that "it was wrong for NFA to evict them without first getting them alternative land.

"We should be given somewhere to go. We shall not just go away because we have nowhere to go with our families and cattle," an elderly man who identified himself as Mr William Butera said.

Mr Sserunjogi said he would meet NFA officials so that the affected residents are given time to harvest their crops before being evicted.

"I am not against the eviction but I am opposed to the manner in which it is being done," he said.

A NFA official in Kiboga, who refused to be named, said they had given the residents enough time to leave the forest reserves but that they refused to comply.

"What can we do now because the land in question was given to a company called New Forest Company to plant pine trees? The company wants to start work," he said.

The district chairman, Mr Kizito Nkugwa, said over 4,000 residents in Kiboga District are landless due to evictions.

Mr Nkugwa said the issue is likely to result into insecurity in the district.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/regional-special/Kiboga_forest_residents_face_eviction.shtml