Locals accuse fellow for destroying community water source

Masindi: Residents of Kihuba A and B cells in Kihuba ward in Karujubu division, Masindi district, are bitter with a fellow resident whom they accuse of destroying their water source.

The residents accuse one Jackson Kakuru, who recently bought land in Kihuba, A cell that touches the wetland where the Guguru well that provides them with water is located.

The residents are bitter after Kakuru destroyed the vegetation in the wetland and replaced it with pines.

Eric Sabbiti Kabalega, one of the residents, is worried that Kakuru’s action will result in the drying of the well that has served them for decades.

Allan Ategeka, a resident of Kihuba B cell, also shares Kabalega’s fears, and he suggests that Kakuru should plant a different type of tree to prevent a looming water crisis in their area.

Christopher Biingi, the secretary for defense for Kihuba A cell says that Kakuru never involved the local leaders when buying the land, and he has never reported to them.

Biingi adds that as local leaders, they are worried by his action, and they are appealing for the intervention of the higher authorities to stop it and save their water source.

Sylvia Draru, the female councilor for Kihuba ward at Masindi municipal council, says she is alarmed by Kakuru’s action, including spraying chemicals on the vegetation in the wetland.

Draru adds that she advised the LC1 chairpersons of the two cells to write to Kakuru informing him of the dangers of his action to the lives of the residents.

Draru, who wants Kakuru to either plant environmentally friendly tree species in the wetland or to uproot the pines, says she has also notified the municipal environmental department about Kakuru’s actions, but she has yet to see any response.

However, Kakuru says he received the complaints from the residents, and he has since left a distance of ten meters between the well and the trees.

He added that he was planning to meet the residents so that they can agree on the distance that he should leave between the trees and well.

He denied the allegations of spraying chemicals in the wetland.

Olivia Nabukenya, the Masindi district environment officer, says the residents’ fear about Kakuru’s action is valid, saying cutting the natural vegetation will lead to the drying of the well or contamination of its water by the non-indigenous tree species being planted.

Nabukenya reveals that the law empowers the residents to file a public lawsuit against those violating their rights and that the residents of Kihuba can also use the same law to protect their water source. 

The accusation against Kakuru comes after President Museveni ordered the protection of wetlands in the country by evicting those degrading them.

Recently, the Masindi municipal environment department, in partnership with the office of the Resident District Commissioner, evicted the people who were washing vehicles in Kirasa stream in Masindi central division in fulfillment of the president’s directive.

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