The Chief Magistrates Standards, Utilities, and Wildlife Court has remanded two suspects, Kerim Ray and Eric Avunalo, to Luzira Prison for degrading Lwajjali wetland.
Kerim is the director for a Turkish company, Yaman Construction Ltd., while Avunalo is manager of Rockbuild Ltd., a contractor for site clearing.
The two are accused of violating the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) conditions given by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and a depositing marram into Lwajjali Wetland.
Prosecution avers that the two were, on June 30, 2024, found backfilling Lwajjali Wetland in Gongobe Village, Goma Division, Sseeta Parish, Mukono Municipality in Mukono District.
The two pleaded guilty to the offenses. Yaman Construction Ltd is a concrete products manufacturing factory that was issued an ESIA certificate on June 14, 2024, in accordance with the National Environment Act 2019.
The approval was meant for concrete manufacturing.
According to the Act, backfilling a wetland is a crime and a person who contravenes the law commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand currency points or imprisonment not exceeding twelve years or both.
