By Our Reporter
NATIONAL
A notorious illegal logger has been arraigned before Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court on charges of Illegal possession of Forest Produce.
Sembwa Rabinson was earlier arrested by State House Anti-corruption Unit in conjunction with police at his stores near Mabira forest in Najjembe division, Lugazi Municipality.
According to a statement by State House Anti-corruption Unit, Sembwa was got in possession of over 200 pieces of timber cut from Mabira forest.
“Sembwa is a notorious illegal logger who has repeatedly been arrested and charged over the same,” the statement reads in part.
Sembwa who has been remanded until 12th October 2023 appeared before court today, 27th September, 2023.
These investigations into the illegal destruction of Mabira Forest follow a directive from H.E the President, to stop the illegal activities in Mabira Forest.
“The President has always been vocal against this vice and on one occasion, he said “whoever destroys forests is an enemy of the country because forests, work as a system and when one part of the system is tampered with, the entire system is affected,” reads the statement further.
It is estimated that over 500,000 acres of forests are cut annually throughout Uganda, this is equivalent to deforesting 43 football fields every hour.
In 2021, Uganda lost 49,000 hectares of tree cover, equivalent to 23.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
State House Anti-corruption Unit says investigations which are still ongoing have so far revealed a number of illegal activities; encroachment for agriculture, logging, charcoal burning and creation of titles on forest land.
“We need to safeguard our forests if we are to preserve our indigenous species and mitigate the effects of global warming. All culprits will be brought to book, to protect our forests.” Warns the Unit.
