At least 20 people have been arrested by National Forestry Authority (NFA) officers for engaging in illegal brick molding within the Princess Diana Forest Reserve in Soroti City East Division.
The operation, led by Soroti NFA boss Joseph Otim, took place on Tuesday morning as part of ongoing efforts to curb environmental degradation.
The suspects were apprehended while molding bricks inside the NFA-managed reserve, a protected area meant for conservation.
They are currently being held at the East Kyoga Police headquarters as investigations continue.
Joseph Otim emphasized that the activity of bricklaying poses a significant threat to the environment, particularly in forest reserves, which are critical for maintaining ecological balance.
“Molding bricks in protected areas like this not only destroys the soil structure but also leads to deforestation and loss of biodiversity,” Otim stated.
He further warned that such activities undermine government efforts to combat climate change and promote sustainable environmental practices.
The Princess Diana Block, under the management of the NFA, is expected to be a green zone in Soroti City, providing much-needed forest cover to the region.
However, encroachments and illegal activities such as bricklaying have increasingly become a challenge for authorities tasked with its protection.
Otim urged residents to find alternative, environmentally friendly means of earning a livelihood and avoid entering protected areas without proper authorization.
He also called for community awareness and cooperation, noting that conserving forest reserves is a shared responsibility.
“We will not allow individuals to destroy our environment for short-term economic gains,” Otim warned. “We have to protect our forests for the future generation.”
However, some of the suspects argue that economic hardships often push people to such activities, calling on the government to provide sustainable livelihood programs as alternatives.
Under Ugandan law, encroachment and destruction of forest resources can lead to heavy fines or imprisonment.
Otim has assured the public that the suspects will be processed in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, the NFA has vowed to intensify patrols and community sensitization programs to ensure such incidents are minimized in the future.
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Thanks a lot for your update
But these environtalists also, u mean they were not aware that bricklaying was taking place inside there.how often do they visit such places called protected?Howard Sensitisation meetings have been conducted to see that these were warned before. Do konye ebe tetere ebakai. Ojalakisi kwi ber lolo
The best way to handle this matter would have been by use of community policing,not rushing for the arrests, should we support these young people to go to the streets and steal or rob from people??? What is government then doing to help these young people before you wakeup to arrest then, this has been their major bread winning activity, which authorities around are very much a ware off, No set these young people free and rehabilitate then other than arresting them. We demand justice for these young people.
I suggest NFA releases those hustlers with warning. Otherwise we might discover more wrong doers in our communities because of idleness.
I don’t know why the law is applied selectively in our Country, NFA should come up with the alternative livelihoods for these youth before arresting them ,By this act they are now complicit to so many social evils that will be metted on population by these young people whose hope has been thrown to the Dustin …they leave that police more anti government than ever before .