Environment watchdog to overhaul law enforcement arm

Environment watchdog NEMA says it plans to overhaul its law enforcement arm.

According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the move is an attempt to strengthen its fight against environmental lawbreakers.

Currently, the primary mandate of NEMA's law enforcement is done by the Environmental Protection Police Unit, which is a unit under the Uganda Police Force.  

"We are going to recruit from the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) and also from the general wananchi, but the overall commander will be an officer from UPDF at the rank of major," NEMA chief Dr Barirega Akankwasah said during World Environment Day celebrations at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala last week.

He said the commander will be under NEMA command and will be bound by its guidelines. The entity can hire and fire holders of the office. 

Akankwasah hopes that the change in command will increase the accountability of the law enforcement arm in light of rising violations against the environment.

"It is going to be a fully-fledged force," he said.

He noted that some environmental Police personnel will remain in the overall enforcement but as a supplementary force.

Enforcement of environmental laws has been a thorny issue in Uganda. 

Some people have accused NEMA of impotence, especially in light of corruption and impunity among powerful property developers.

In 2018, for example, the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters in Uganda found out that a total of 562 land titles had been issued in Kinawataka and Namanve wetlands.

The inquiry was led by Justice Catherine Bamugemereire.

In its report, the commission revealed that a total of 36 land titles issued in the wetlands had resulted in Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) facing challenges in the installation of transmission lines in 2015.

However, the report stated that the purported owners of the land titles had demanded compensation from UETCL.

According to NEMA, Kinawataka and Namanve wetlands are categorised as public reserve areas and are supposed to be kept intact to filter effluent that drains from the neighboring Bugolobi, Mbuya, Kireka, and other areas before it pours into Lake Victoria.

However, some of these areas have been occupied by encroachers.