environment 23 September 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
NEMA Demolishes Homes and Gardens to Restore Ntungamo Wetland
National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) officials, backed by police, have demolished over 50 houses and cleared numerous gardens in Ntungamo to restore the Kakingora wetland and river banks. The operation comes after repeated warnings to encroachers were ignored. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/nema-destroys-over-50-houses-gardens-to-restore-ntungamo-wetland-5606042
Officials from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) have undertaken a significant operation in Ntungamo, demolishing over 50 houses and clearing gardens to reclaim and restore the Kakingora wetland and its river banks. The action, which involved excavators and manual labor, targeted structures and crops that had encroached on the vital wetland.
According to Mr. Tukwasibwe Posiano, a senior wetland inspector at NEMA, the demolition followed numerous failed attempts to get encroachers to leave voluntarily. “We have given these people letters, mapped the area we wanted restored in their face and asked them to vacate,” he stated. Despite warnings issued in September 2024 and again in 2025, many encroachers remained, with some claiming connections to government officials or accusing municipal authorities of allocating them plots within the wetland.
The operation saw the destruction of permanent houses, garages, shelters, and extensive gardens of coffee, bananas, cassava, and potatoes. At least 10 drainage trenches dug into the wetland were also covered. Wallen Kiconco, a senior environment officer for NEMA in the south-western region, explained that covering these trenches is crucial for natural regeneration. “When we cover trenches, water will return to the areas where it was diverted from, it will flood the area and cause the original plants to regenerate,” Kiconco said, expressing optimism that the wetland could be restored within a year if left undisturbed.
The depletion of the Kakingora wetland has been cited as a contributing factor to increased flooding in Ntungamo town, as the wetland traditionally serves as a natural reservoir and green belt. Some affected residents, like Ambrose Kakuru, a mechanic whose garage was demolished, expressed frustration and blamed municipal leadership for misleading them into renting or setting up businesses in the area. “When they chased us from where we were working, they told us to come here,” Kakuru lamented.