Africa-Press – Uganda. CLIMATE CHANGE |Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom has protested a move by lands ministry to cancel a title issued on land alleged to be part of Bugoma Forest Reserve in Kikuube district.The kingdom argues that the cancellation will be illegitimate since a resolution for a boundary re-opening exercise between the two parties meant to prove the true owner of the said land is yet to be concluded.The lands ministry on Tuesday revealed a plan to cancel more than 400 land titles under the pretext that they were erroneously issued in forest reserves to different people and entities.On the list was the 5,799 hectares of land that the king of Bunyoro, Solomon Gafabusa Iguru, leased to Hoima Sugar Limited for sugarcane cultivation for 99 years.Denis Obbo, the ministry’s spokesperson, said the process to cancel the land titles is in advanced stages. The reserves are managed by National Forestry Authority (NFA).Obbo said this was in response to complaints from NFA, which is mandated by law to manage 506 forest reserves across the country.He said a notice was published in the media, summoning the concerned individuals and companies for hearing.John Apollo Rwamparo, the kingdom first deputy prime minister, yesterday confirmed in a phone interview that they had also been summoned to appear for a hearing on February 18, 2021, in the lands ministry boardroom.Rwamparo said this is contrary to what they agreed on as stakeholders during a meeting on June 17, 2020, at Rukurato offices in Hoima city. The entourage from the kingdom met Sam Cheptoris, the water and environment minister, lands ministry officials, National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and NFA, where they agreed that there is no way it could be concluded that the aforesaid contested land title is in a forest reserve without knowing where it starts or ends or the true owner.In a subsequent meeting on November 16, he added, kingdom officials led by Rwamparo himself, met a delegation from the lands ministry who told him that they (lands ministry) had come to report and were going to Kikuube and Hoima to start the boundary re-opening.He said to their surprise they asked officials from lands ministry about the progress who said the exercise had been halted because they lacked manpower for the exercise.Rwamparo said stakeholders agreed to have boundary re-opening to protect the kingdom’s land and establish the forest’s boundaries.
