John Wasswa the Ndibulungi Village LC 1 Chairperson says Euro Chicks Farm Limited has been disposing the chicken droppings in an open piece of land belonging to Moses Ssenkasi for the past two years.
Anti-riot Police has deployed in Ndibulungi
village in Luweero district to quell a protest by residents against Euro Chick
Farm for disposing of chicken droppings in their area.
More than 200 residents drawn from Ndibulungi,
Nganju and Yandwe villages in Butuntumula Sub County rose up in arms against
Euro Chicks Farm Limited this morning for disposing off chicken droppings in
the open exposing their lives to infections.
Residents mounted barricades on the feeder road
connecting to Kampala-Gulu highway and blocked a truck registration number UAV
429S, which had just disposed of the chicken the droppings on a piece of land
in their village.
John Wasswa the Ndibulungi Village LC 1 Chairperson
says Euro Chicks Farm Limited has been disposing the chicken droppings in an
open piece of land belonging to Moses Ssenkasi for the past two years.
According to Wasswa, they have registered
several complaints from residents about the heavy stench from the droppings.
Wasswa explains that he forwarded the residents’ complaints to the farm
managers but nothing was done.
//Cue in: “Nti abantu baffe…
Cue out;…abantu bangi”//
Other residents complained that the chicken droppings cause them stomach upsets and other hygiene related illnesses
since they end up in community wells.
//Cue in: “Tufunye ekizibu…
Cue out:…...mwetunywa amazzi”//
Moses Ssenkasi, the owner of the land where the
chicken droppings are disposed of, accused the farm of trespassing on his land
despite numerous warnings.
It took the intervention of Luweero
District Police Commander, Abraham Tukundane to calm down the residents and
order the arrest of the truck driver, Musa Mulindwa and his colleague who had just
completed disposing of the droppings.
Tukundane promised to engage the leadership of
Euro Chicks Farm and District Environment Office to address the issues raised
by residents.
English Audio
//Cue in: “But we have…
Cue out;…investigations,”//
Luganda Audio
//Cue in: “Ngenda kwatagana…
Cue out;…company eyo,”//
Our reporter tried to access Euro Chicks Farm
premises but was blocked by the security guards. However, earlier on, the truck
driver, Musa Mulindwa claimed that the farm contracted Sowedi Mukibiri to
dispose of the chicken dropping who also secured permission from Moses Ssenkasi
to use his land and was surprised by the turn of events.
Mulindwa noted that they have secured
alternative land to dispose of the chicken droppings. In 2017, residents of
Butuntumula Sub County forced SR Afro Chicks limited, an Indian owned poultry
farm to stop disposing of chicken droppings in their area.
More than 300 residents from Kyamufumba,
Ndibulungi and Yandwe villages accused the poultry farm of disposing of the
chicken droppings in the open exposing their lives to infection by respiratory
diseases.
Veterinary Officers warn that chicken droppings produce bacteria and
gases such as ammonia, which can be harmful to human beings.
