NEMA Demolishes Mulungu Resort Wall in Fresh Wetland Crackdown

What the report says

Nile Post reported that Uganda’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has demolished a perimeter wall at Ddungu Resort Beach in Mulungu, Makindye Division, saying the structure had been built into the Lake Victoria basin. The operation, carried out with support from security agencies, is being presented by the regulator as part of a renewed campaign against illegal construction in wetlands and lake-shore buffer zones.

According to the report, NEMA said work on the wall began in 2019 and continued despite several stop orders issued to the resort’s management. The authority said the permanent structure interfered with the lake’s natural buffer and ecosystem, prompting enforcement action after the directives were allegedly ignored. NEMA spokesperson William Lubuulwa said the agency’s decisions are based on the law and not on the perceived influence or status of developers.

Nile Post also reported that NEMA is preparing a case file against the developers for possible prosecution over alleged environmental breaches and non-compliance with statutory orders. The agency has warned other property owners and developers operating in wetlands and lake buffer areas that unlawful structures remain subject to removal.

The action matters because enforcement around wetlands and lake shores has become a sensitive public issue in Uganda. Environmental specialists generally warn that encroachment can damage habitats, reduce natural flood control and weaken the ability of wetlands and lake-edge areas to filter pollutants. Nile Post noted that NEMA’s latest action comes amid criticism that enforcement has sometimes appeared harsher on small-scale encroachers than on more powerful developers, a perception the authority says it is working to counter.