One Arrested As Kamuwunga Residents Petition NEMA Over Lwera Wetland Destruction

Residents of Kamuwunga village, Kalungu District, earlier today took to Kampala streets demanding urgent government intervention to halt the ongoing destruction of Lwera Wetland, one of Uganda’s most fragile and vital ecosystems. The protest turned dramatic in the afternoon when Merida Wandukwa, a vocal female environmental activist, was arrested during the demonstration.

The protest and subsequent petition, addressed to the Executive Director of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), comes amid rising frustrations over what residents call a blatant violation of their human rights and environmental justice.

Carrying placards reading “Lwera is Life,” “Stop Killing Our Wetlands,” and “Our Children Deserve Better,” dozens of residents from Kamuwunga (Kalungu) and Kamala (Mpigi) villages marched through the roads leading to NEMA headquarters in Kampala.

Their message was loud, emotional, and urgent: Stop the rice growing and sand mining destroying their environment.

“We are not against development. But development should not bury us alive; our gardens are flooded, our children can’t access school, and we drink poisoned water. What kind of life is this?”

Once crowded with biodiversity and natural beauty, Lwera Wetland, which stretches 20 kilometers along the Masaka Highway, has been assaulted by unchecked rice cultivation and unregulated sand mining.

According to the petition submitted to NEMA on May 27, 2025, residents claim that foreign and local investors have turned the wetland into an economic free-for-all, with dire consequences for both people and nature.

“We used to farm, fish, graze, and even hold cultural rituals in Lwera,” the petition reads.

“Now, we are flooded out of our homes, our crops rot in the fields, and fish stocks have vanished from the lake,” said Mumbere.

Residents accuse rice growers of using dangerous agrochemicals that soak into the wetland and flow downstream into Lake Victoria, contaminating fish and domestic water sources.

Meanwhile, sand mining operations have carved deep, uncovered ditches into the wetland landscape, which turn into death traps during the rainy season, causing severe flooding, loss of gardens, and displacement of schoolchildren from Kamuwunga Primary School.

“We are now food insecure. The sweet potatoes we once proudly harvested are gone. Even our children are no longer safe at school.”

The demonstration took a dramatic turn when Merida Wandukwa, a prominent female activist and resident, was forcibly arrested by police during the protest.

Her arrest has been widely condemned by human rights defenders and civil society organizations, calling it an intimidation tactic meant to silence environmental justice.

The petitioners have laid out four clear demands to NEMA, including immediate coverage of open sand pits to prevent further flooding, cancellation of all rice farming and sand mining permits in the wetland area, enforcement of environmental laws, including halting land titles obtained by politically connected individuals in the wetland and multi-stakeholder collaboration to promote sustainable agriculture, responsible mining, and ecosystem restoration.

They also referenced President Museveni’s 2019 directive ordering rice farmers out of wetlands, a directive they say has been blatantly ignored.

As NEMA remains silent on the latest petition, locals vow to keep pressing until action is taken. They say they will not sit back and watch a vital ecosystem vanish before their eyes.

“We are not going anywhere. We were born here. Lwera is not just a swamp, it is our life, our future, and our right,” said Mumbere, one of the activists.

The Lwera Wetland crisis is no longer just an environmental issue, it has transformed into a human rights battle, placing the government, investors, and regulators under growing scrutiny.

Also Read: Lwera Is Dying! Uganda is Sacrificing a National Treasure for Sand and Rice