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Citizen Posts
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By Sando Martin
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in-charge of regional cooperation who is also the Member of Parliament for Samia Bugwe North constituency in Busia District, Hon. John Mulimba has grilled both the National Forestry Authority Officers at Busitema Forest and Busia police over extortion, torture, harassment of residents and detention of people including pregnant women after failing to arrest their husbands on allegations of cutting trees and collecting firewood from Busitema Forest.
Grieved residents narrate that National Forestry Authority Officers have so far killed four people for being found in the forest cutting trees while others are nursing wounds.
A mother of 65 years says that she was caned severally allover the body and thereafter she was taken to pick charcoal from the forest, on arrest she was found seated trying to scare Baboons from her potato garden, police claimed she was spying for others to come and they cut trees.
Other residents who spoke on condition of anonymity say that just a mere being found alongside the forest grazing animals is also a crime which leads to your arrest and end up being detained if found without any money.
Mildred Nafuna the Regional National Forestry Authority and OC Police Busia station, Hakim apologized for the offenses committed, like harassment, torture and detention of people unnecessarily because this is not in order to arrest some women after failing to get their husbands.
This happened during meeting with the Stakeholders, Busia District Elders Forum, NFA and Busia police at Bulumbi sub county headquarters after several grievances were raised by the community on allegations of cutting trees and collecting firewood from the forest.
Minister John Mulimba gave directives to residents not to cut trees from the forest, NFA to start up Nursery beds for seedlings and be distributed to residents to plant their own trees. He also ordered stopping of unnecessary detention of residents.
The minister also promised to bring the wildlife officers take away Baboons which have occasionally destroyed people’s crops and assured his constituents that officers who have been harassing residents will be arrested.
