Uganda Wildlife Authority faced with fresh encroachment at Mt. Elgon

Information was received last week that while people are still being evacuated from inside the national park where they are presently threatened by landslides in the wake of torrential rains sweeping

Information was received last week that while people are still being evacuated from inside the national park where they are presently threatened by landslides in the wake of torrential rains sweeping the region, others continue to attempt to enter park land.

Unscrupulous political aspirants โ€“ Uganda is due for elections in less than a yearโ€™s time โ€“ apparently continue to incite villagers to uproot park demarcations and grow crops in the park, alongside which the felling of trees has been witnessed, too – one of the major causes for the recent landslides, which have claimed hundreds of lives in the Bududa area of the mountain.

UWA has in the immediate aftermath of the massive landslide there again advocated the removal of illegal squatters for their own safety, but this latest development seems to be pouring cold water on common sense to stay away from parts of the park where fresh landslides could occur once trees are felled and the top soil exposed for cultivation on steep terrain. Government at large has also committed to removing illegal squatters following the tragedy, and it now remains to be seen how strong that commitment is when the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) calls in support to enforce boundaries and evacuate more of the illegal settlements threatened by new landslides as a result of the ongoing torrential rainstorms lashing the mountain side.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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