Africa-Press – Uganda. The National Forestry Authority (NFA) could evict a health centre, a Pentecostal Church and more than 100 households and institutions from a forest reserve in Ntungamo District.
The NFA opened the boundaries of the said central forest reserve in April. Following the opening of the boundaries using the geographical mapping system, the NFA erected mark stones on 13.7 hectares of the land.
This included over 70 percent of the recently constructed area housing the Ntungamo Municipality Health Centre III, which is on the compound of the Ntungamo District Mosque.
The Muslim community in Ntungamo has protested the planned eviction arguing that the land where they have constructed a Health Centre III, a Quran school and other developments belong to the Ntungamo District Mosque.
Last Thursday, NFA, Ntungamo district and Muslim officials were called for a meeting over the matter.
“How can someone come and erect mark stones in the compound of the Mosque and claim the land belongs to the government? If Islam is not the government, who is government,” Hajj Jafari Kawuki, former chairman of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council in Ntungamo, said during the meeting.
On Monday, the Ntungamo District Kadhi told Monitor that the NFA agreed to suspend the eviction of the Muslim infrastructure until all the issues are resolved.
The Thursday meeting was attended by the resident district commissioner (RDC), the district chairperson, the municipal mayor and other top security personnel.
The Ntungamo RDC, Mr Geoffrey Mucunguzi, asked Muslim leaders to engage in a fruitful dialogue with the government.
“We can’t be two partners making two wrong things, there must be someone who is right in this…Yes there are buildings, but are they in the right place, and if they are in the wrong place what do we do? All parties must engage and resolve this,” Mr Mucunguzi said.
Apart from a mosque, one of the oldest Pentecostal churches, Ntungamo Worship Centre is also affected. If the structures are found to be within the boundary of the central forest reserve, they could be demolished.
Also, more than 100 households are affected. Individuals led by Ntungamo businessman Mr Charles Rwamatsibuza have been in court for years claiming to have bought plots on the forest reserve from the Ntungamo Town Board in 1992. The case is up for judgment this August.
The NFA communications officer, Ms Juliet Mubi, said the authority will continue engaging the affected persons.
Several people had acquired plots of land from the forest reserve after it seemed like NFA had abandoned it.
The municipal mayor, Mr Jacob Kafureka, downplays the need for a central forest reserve in the centre of Ntungamo Town.
However, Ms Mubi disagrees, by saying the reserve which is part of the 506 central forest reserves in the country, is one of the key conservation measures employed by the government in urban planning, for supporting water systems and creating a natural feel in the urban centres.
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