Over 2,000 farmers in Nyamalembo Village -Ngoma parish Bwikara sub-county Kagadi district are living in fear and panic following a one-month ultimatum to vacate land allegedly owned by the National Forest Authority.

In a meeting with the affected farmers in Nyamalembo A, B, and C in Bwikara sub-county, Barnabas Tinkasiimire, the Buyaga West MP says he has started pursuing the case of eviction by National Forest Authority (NFA) in courts of law seeking for justice following a one-month ultimatum by NFA to over 2,000 farmers to vacate land owned by individuals.

The affected farmers say their land was inherited from their parents and have been on the land bordering Kangombe forest reserves for decades. They explained that they were recently hit by hailstorms in addition to drought and have no food, water, or any other land to settle.

NGABIRANO AUGUSTINE – farmer (I have been on my land for decades and NFA came and grabbed our land demarcating it as theirs yet the border line is elsewhere where we want President Museveni and Robinah Nabanja to intervene.)

MUHUMUZA ANDREW-farmer.  ( I have lived on my father’s land for over 20 years and before my father died he showed me where to pass but to my surprise, NFA came and demarcated a wrong place, we cannot accept that.)

Junior Katusabe, Kagadi political analyst says he knows some prominent government officials who have encroached on forests and wetlands but have not been forced out. He added that they are untouchables.

Amlan Tumusiime, the Kikuube resident district commissioner has several times pinned the National forest authority (NFA) for being at the forefront of degrading the forest and causing land conflicts.

Tom Okello, the Executive Director NFA while officiating a tree planting campaign in Muziizi forest, Bugoma and Budongo forest reserves recently had earlier warned Kagadi residents against interfering with wetlands and forest reserves saying the act had caused climate change, famine, and poverty.

Kagombe forest reserve in greater Kibaale which borders Mubende, Kyegegwa, Ntoroko, and Kyenjojo districts covers a total land area of over 170,000 hectares followed by Bugoma and Budongo central forest reserves.