UGANDA: Museveni lacks moral authority to speak on wildlife crime - PHOTOS

MUSEVENI LACKS THE MORAL AUTHORITY TO SPEAK OVER WILDLIFE CRIME

Uganda's military dictator, Museveni today presented a call to action on illegal Wildlife trade at a conference in London. According to his handlers, he will later hold a meeting with HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace and attend a dinner hosted by the Giants Club.
The illegal wildlife trade is an urgent global issue, threatening some of the world’s most iconic species with extinction, damaging sustainable economic growth and the livelihoods of vulnerable people in rural communities.

Museveni lacks the moral authority to talk about the subject owing to the following facts:

1. Around early 2014 a ton of ivory was stolen from the government strong room by the army's Col. Charles Tusiime who had been attached to Uganda Wildlife Authority.

In early February 2015, a junior staff of UWA, Lance Corporal Evaristo Seete was shot dead by SIU personnel from his home in Kyebando, Kampala. The murder was to break the chain of evidence since the deceased had been one of the guards to the strong room from where Col. Charles Tusiime had earlier stolen the ton of ivory. 

 
New Vision's celebrated CNN Award winning environmental Journalist Gerald Tenywa who has for over a decade covered conservation related issues and in particular wildlife in Uganda had consistently kept the public posted about developments surrounding the ivory saga. Following the murder of the said witness Ranger, Geral Tenywa was next on the hit list. He faced direct and indirect threats from strangers and had to report to the police. 

 
Col. Charles Tusiime was simply recalled back to the army headquarters and given a pat on the back.

2. In May 2014, Custom authorities at Entebbe airport impounded 35 Rhino horns and 22 pieces of Elephant tusks. UWA law enforcement (Army and Rangers) connived with the Airport Police to steal two pieces of Rhino horns. They crafted fake rhino horns to put in place for the genuine ones. After selling them, they disagreed on how to share the proceeds. Their colleague who had helped with the crafting of the fake wooden rhino horns opted to spill the beans.

The thief turned whistle blower revealed how he had helped craft the two fake rhino horns and how he had earlier procured duplicate keys for the UWA ivory strong room. He went ahead to reveal that in a syndicate composed of both the army officers and UWA Rangers, they had accessed the strong room past midnight and loaded ivory. He further confirmed that it is was Col. Charles Tusiime who communicated to the guard on duty to allow the entry, removal and loading of ivory into a waiting NOAH van.

3. In January 2015, a total of 791kgs of ivory and 2029kgs of Pangolin scales were intercepted at Entebbe Airport. The consignment had been declared as communication equipment belonging to MTN destined for Denmark for repairs. Out of the 136 pieces (791kgs) of ivory, three pieces bore the UWA markings implying that they had originated from the UWA stock. Initially, an ENHAS cargo handler and the clearing agent were arrested by the Police. Shortly after, the driver of the truck that transported the contraband wildlife trophies led the Police to a warehouse in Kampala where the packaging had taken place. From that warehouse, a weighing scale and tools for cutting the ivory pieces into shape were recovered.

4. In March 2016, the police arrested red handed Major Rutagira Allen, Captain Kamugisha Collins both Uganda Peoples Defense Forces Staff while selling 21.5kgs of pure elephant ivory.
They were arrested at Hotel Africana Kampala. The officers of the UPDF are attached to the elite Presidential Guard Unit, the Special Forces Command (SFC) attached to Entebbe International Airport raising suspicions that they might have obtained the contraband from the coffers of the Airport. Kamugisha`s confession led to the arrest of George Otika, an accountant at Entebbe handling services and Able Bamonjobora, a State House driver.

5. In February 2017 the Ugandan authorities seized a ton of illegal ivory from a house in Kampala and arrested three West Africans they believed were plotting to ship it abroad. A Liberian and two Guinea-Bissau nationals were arrested for possessing the ivory.

6. In February 2017 the Police arrested Museveni's Presidential Advisor, Yekoyada Nuwagaba with ivory worth Shs 1bn in his house in Makindye, a Kampala suburb as he attempted to sell part of it to undercover law enforcement agents.

Around August 2006 the same Yekoyada Nuwagaba was involved in another scam involving an illegal consignment of 250 endangered tortoises that was destined for Thailand but only to be intercepted at the Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi by Interpol.

7. In June 2017, Museveni personally accused local officials and two Chinese diplomats of smuggling 1.3 metric tons (about 2,900 pounds) of ivory out of the country in 2014. He wrote to the IGG with instructions to carry out a probe into the matter. His letter named two Chinese diplomats, Li Wejin and Yinzhi, who allegedly collaborated with wildlife officials to export ivory from Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan. Chinese authorities quickly denied the accusation and pointed out that the diplomats named by the president were not stationed in Uganda. Days later, Uganda’s foreign ministry issued an apology.

8. World over, the best wildlife conservation practices involve collaboration with and benefits to local communities. In Museveni's Uganda, local communities don't matter. On June 25, 2018, four people from the communities neighboring Queen Elizabeth National Park were reportedly shot dead by the army.  It was disclosed that they had gone to the park to inspect their traps. Other reports indicate that the four people were shot as they skinned a buffalo.

In 2014, Museveni directed the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) and Game Rangers to shoot on sight any armed poacher found in game parks. He issued the decree in Kidepo National Park during the ceremony to mark 50 years of that park. At the time, his army had taken over security in the national parks and since then incidents of arbitrary killing of poachers and other wildlife related crime have been on the rise to correspond with the army's doubled presence.

9. In April 2018, eleven lions were poisoned to death at Hamukungu in Queen Elizabeth National Park. But because the culprit is from the pastoralist Basongora community, he was let off the hook while the Banyaruguru subsistance poachers are shot dead on the other side of the park.

10. “Today I have witnessed something very sad in Ishasha, whoever is around Ishasha find out you will confirm that UPDF soldiers have chased the Lions off their prey and took the whole of it to their barracks for food. These two male lions fought and killed their Buffalo and these hungry guys just came and took it."
A Tour Guide in Queen Elizabeth National Park narrating to Nile Post - Sept 13, 2018

“It's true, we have been around and all our clients are annoyed but only saying that the authorities have to do something” said another safari guide on the site.

Another person who is based in the area said “it happens all the time” However, the army Spokesman, Brig. Karemire refuted the claims thus;
“The UPDF is taking good care of the welfare of its soldiers including timely provision of rations,” army spokesperson, Richard Karemire told Nile Post.

Save for No. 4 above where the culprits were convicted and given lenient sentences, all the above major incidents were swept under the carpet and the vice is still highly prevalent in Uganda. Owing to his corrupt law enforcement and security officers, Uganda is now a major conduit of illegal wildlife trade from CAR, DRC and South Sudan to markets in the far east.

What about the illegal logging in South Sudan, Congo, CAR and inside Uganda by his security officers!! What about the wanton destruction of the forest cover, destruction of wetlands and general environmental degradation by his greed-driven policies!!!

Museveni should tell the world what deterrent measures he has taken to curb illegal wildlife trade. Instead, driven by the need to secure donor funding, he is busy posturing as a patron of wildlife conservation. The other day he was mocking conservationists that they were "conserving poverty" just because they were opposed to his so called investor from curving out a golf course in the Queen Elizabeth National Park.

INFORMATION IS POWER AND THE PROBLEM OF UGANDA IS MUSEVENISM

change of guards