Mpigi, Kalungu – Once a serene greenbelt along the Kampala-Masaka highway, Lwera Wetland now wears a face of tragedy. What used to be a cradle of biodiversity, a cultural marker for the Baganda and a vital natural flood control system is now a warzone of bulldozers, dump trucks and greed-fueled destruction.
The wetland, stretching over 20 kilometers is being choked to death by sand mining and commercial rice farming both allegedly sanctioned by state authorities.
“It’s no longer a wetland. It’s a construction site,” laments Mumbere Joackim, Executive Director of Weka Afri Sustainable Biodiversity and Food Security Foundation, one of the few remaining voices crying out for justice for Lwera.
For centuries, the Lwera Wetland was more than just a swamp. To Baganda, it was symbolic point of pride and identity. Those hailing from Masaka would proudly say, “Twasala Lwera”, meaning “we crossed Lwera.” It was a spiritual, economic and ecological hub connecting river systems and acting as a buffer that filtered pollutants before reaching Lake Victoria.
Today, all that stands in its place are deep scratches in the earth, massive rice plantations and convoys of trucks ferrying stolen sand, a telltale sign of the degradation of one of Uganda’s most critical ecosystems.
The blame game starts and ends with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). Tasked with protecting Uganda’s natural heritage, NEMA has instead licensed both local and foreign companies some linked to Chinese entities to operate right inside the wetland.
Shockingly, President Museveni himself ordered the eviction of all rice farmers from wetlands in 2019 but those orders remain largely ignored.
“We’ve watched NEMA evict struggling local farmers in other parts of the country like Kampala wetlands,” says Joackim. “Why is Lwera different? Why the double standards?”
Locals and environmental experts point fingers at corruption, political protection and greed. While unlicensed individuals are swiftly punished, corporate giants with government connections are shielded and allowed to keep destroying the ecosystem.
The consequences are already unfolding. In 2023, catastrophic flooding destroyed homes and farms, submerged key infrastructure like the Katonga Bridge and displaced thousands.
Locals report frequent flooding and loss of grazing fields, clean water sources and medicinal plants.
“Our cattle can no longer graze. Our children have nowhere to play. The fish are gone. The medicine herbs are gone,” says a local elder from Kalungu, his eyes filled with despair.
Heavy machinery, synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides used in rice farming have contaminated water bodies and accelerated the collapse of fragile ecosystems that once balanced water flow and supported endangered species.
This is more than just an environmental crisis; it’s a national emergency. Uganda risks violating international treaties on wetland conservation and climate change mitigation, yet the destruction continues. The silence and inaction from authorities are not just negligence, they are complicity.
Joackim and his organization are calling for radical actions, including immediate shutdown of all mining and rice cultivation operations in Lwera, full environmental audit and public release of all NEMA-issued permits, criminal investigations into government officials and private developers involved and lastly restoration of the wetland through indigenous planting and water rehabilitation
The youth of Uganda, civil society, faith leaders and every conscious citizen must treat this as an environmental war. The survival of Lwera is not just about protecting swamps, it’s about securing water, culture, climate stability and Uganda’s environmental future.
“Bang the tables at NEMA. Demand answers. March for your wetlands. Don’t watch history erase our heritage,” Joackim implores.
This is a fight that must be fought in Parliament, on the streets, in the media and in our hearts. Because if Lwera falls, the floodwaters won’t just drown wetlands, they’ll wash away our future.
Also Read: Three Women Arrested for protests against Lwera destruction
