The duo was arrested on Tuesday evening few minutes after they arrived in Hoima town ahead of the peaceful demonstration against the sale and destruction of Bugoma forest reserve situation in Kyangwali and Kabwoya sub counties in Kikuube district.
The two arrested Journalists behind bars at Hoima Central police station.Photo by Emmanuel Okello.
Two
environmental journalists spent Tuesday night in the cells at Hoima Central
Police station in connection to a peaceful protest against the leasing of Bugoma
forest reserve to Hoima Sugar Limited by Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom for sugarcane
growing. They are Joshua Mutale and Vennex Watebawa, both members of the
Water and Environment Media Network-WEMNET.
The duo was detained around 8 p.m. on Tuesday night shortly after arriving in
Hoima city ahead of a peaceful demonstration against the destruction of Bugoma
forest reserve in Kyangwali and Kabwoya Sub counties in Kikuube district.
According to
sources, the two were detained after Hoima District Police Commander invited
them for a meeting at the police station. Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region Police
spokesperson, says the two journalists were detained after intelligence
information indicated that they are the masterminds of the save Bugoma
demonstration campaign.
The
demonstration was expected to kick off this morning from Hoima City and stop in
Bugoma central forest reserve in Kikuube district. Recently, environmentalists
under the "Save Bugoma Forest Reserve Campaign" made announcements on local stations inviting people in Bunyoro sub-region to join them in a peaceful
demonstration to oppose the allocation of Bugoma forest to Hoima sugar limited
for sugar cane growing.
They want
the National Environment Management Authority-NEMA to revoke the license issued
to Hoima sugar limited to utilise 21 out of the 22 square miles of the forest
for cane growing. Hoima sugar limited leased Bugoma forest land from the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom
for cane growing at Shillings 3 billion.
Hakiza
reveals that the Inspector General of Police IGP issued a directive last week
stopping the demonstration by the environmentalists until further notice on
grounds that it would attract thousands of people in breach of the Covid-19 preventive
guidelines. According to Hakiza, the journalist will be charged with conspiracy
to stage an unlawful Assembly.
However, the
journalists hadn’t recorded any statement by the time of publishing this story.
This morning, journalists under Bunyoro Journalists Association stormed Hoima
Central police station to demand the unconditional release of their colleagues.
Ismail Kasooha, a journalist from Vision group wonders why the journalists
haven’t been allowed to record a statement despite spending a night in the
police cells. National Forestry Authority-NFA, which is the chief custodian of
all Natural forests in the country, is opposed to the project.