Hundreds Homeless as NEMA Demolishes Homes in Busabala Wetland Restoration

Hundreds of families in Busabala, Wakiso District, are now grappling with homelessness and uncertainty after a two-day operation by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to restore the Kaliddubi Wetland.

The enforcement action, which concluded on Thursday, June 4, 2026, saw approximately 10.3 hectares of the protected wetland cleared, resulting in the destruction of over 100 homes.

Outrage has spread among the displaced residents, who allege that NEMA’s crackdown is a case of “selective enforcement.” They claim that ordinary citizens were targeted for demolition while wealthy developers with ongoing construction projects near Kaazi Resort Beach, adjacent to the cleared wetland, were left untouched.

Many affected families acknowledged their properties were within the classified wetland zone. However, they argued that the land was dry and habitable when they purchased it years ago. Residents point to extensive land reclamation by investors along the Lake Victoria shoreline as the cause of artificial wetland creation, which has pushed water back into their settlements.

“We are not being evicted because of NEMA’s genuine environmental restoration, but rather because of the actions of a wealthy investor,” lamented Augustine Ndayambaze, a resident who built his home in 2011 on what was then dry land. “NEMA is being selective, targeting poor, struggling nationals while protecting the real encroachers.”

The sudden demolitions have left families stranded, with some breadwinners returning from work to find their homes reduced to rubble. Abdul Nasir Kasaagwa, a boda-boda rider, described the devastation of losing his home built with years of savings. “Where are we going to sleep?” he asked, appealing for government compensation for the evicted.

NEMA Public Relations Officer, William Lubuulwa, refuted the claims of selective enforcement, stating that the authority’s mandate is applied uniformly. He explained that the structure near Kaazi Resort Beach was spared because it was located on a rocky hill, not within the actual swampy area targeted for restoration.

Lubuulwa emphasized that the Busabala operation is part of a broader national campaign to protect degraded ecosystems, with similar enforcement actions recently conducted in the Lubigi wetland and construction activities suspended along the Lumpewo wetland.

According to NEMA, further environmental crackdowns are planned for other heavily degraded areas across the country. This operation was documented by the Daily Monitor.