KIKUUBE, June 16, 2026 — The Executive Director of the National Environment Management Authority [NEMA], Barirega Akankwasah, has directed that maize planted on land within Bugoma Forest Reserve should not be harvested.
Akankwasah issued the directive recently while launching the restoration of 12.77 square miles of land, part of the 22 square miles of Kyangwali ancestral land that was leased by the Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom to Hoima Sugar Limited for sugarcane growing under a 99-year lease.
His directive followed observations of extensive crop cultivation within the forest, allegedly done by encroachers in Kikuube district.
The encroachers, including members of local communities, government officials and security personnel from both Bunyoro and outside the region, reportedly invaded the area and cleared sections of what was once a thick and impenetrable natural forest for cultivation, charcoal burning and timber harvesting.
“It’s shameful to see maize plantations here. We only want to see forest and not maize in this landscape. The people of Kikuube need to understand that you cannot survive without a forest,” Akankwasah said.
He urged the Uganda Wildlife Authority [UWA], which has been mandated to manage the forest reserve — now designated as a national park — not to allow anyone to harvest the crops, saying this would serve as a deterrent to farmers intending to encroach on protected land.
Akankwasah also directed UWA to remove all encroachers from Bugoma Forest and Kyangwali ancestral land to ensure the ecosystem continues providing essential ecological services.
He advised farmers to avoid degrading sensitive ecological areas such as wetlands and forests and instead adopt smart agriculture practices to improve productivity.
“The forest land is fertile, but it is fertile because it has remained forest for years. If you cultivate this land for three to five seasons, the fertility will disappear. Where else will you go? Please use your own land and apply smart agriculture technologies — the land you already have can give you higher yields,” he said.
Speaking at the same function, Fred Kiiza, Chief Warden of the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, representing UWA Executive Director Dr James Musinguzi, said more than 100 people had been arrested for carrying out illegal activities in the forest.
Kiiza said nobody would be allowed to enter the area to harvest maize and added that since UWA assumed management of the forest, activities such as cultivation, charcoal burning and timber cutting had been prohibited.
“As I speak today, over 100 people from Bunyoro have been arrested in this area for tree cutting, charcoal burning, cultivation, entering the forest and transporting charcoal along the road. Whoever has a staff member, child or relative who was arrested should follow up their cases at Kampala Utility Court because we do not handle those cases from here,” he said.
Recently, a group of more than 100 farmers petitioned the office of the Kikuube Resident District Commissioner seeking permission to harvest the maize.
The farmers claimed they had rented land inside the forest and argued that being evicted before harvesting would expose them to unrecoverable losses.
It is estimated that more than 500 farmers have planted over 2,000 acres of maize inside the forest.
Godwine Agalia, the Kikuube Resident District Commissioner, confirmed receipt of the petition but said the matter was still under discussion by the relevant authorities.
However, he called on UWA to support Hoima Sugar Ltd in protecting its land from encroachment.
He noted that encroachment in Bugoma Forest had partly been driven by people claiming they were operating on land belonging to investors, adding that ending encroachment would require restricting access to all contested land, including investors’ land.
Uganda loses roughly 122,000 hectares of forest cover annually, leaving natural forest cover at just about 9 per cent to 12.7 per cent of the total land area. Driven largely by agricultural expansion and charcoal production, the country faces critical challenges balancing rapid deforestation with conservation and economic needs.
https://thecooperator.news/nfa-updates-budongo-forest-management-plan/
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