The Standards Utilities and Wildlife court in Kampala has ordered a Turkish investor, Kerim Ray, also director of Yamani Construction Limited to pay a fine of Shs 200 million and also restore Lwajjali wetland in Mukono district.
The sentence came after the Turkish investor pleaded guilty to encroaching on Lwajjali wetland after filling it with murram.
Consequently, Chief magistrate Gladys Kamasanyu sentenced him to a fine of Shs 150 million and in default, served five years imprisonment.
The investor was also ordered to pay a shs50 million fine for pouring murram in a wetland and in default, he is to serve two years imprisonment.
The magistrate said while the jail terms are to run concurrently, the fine is cumulative.
The case
Kerim Ray and Eric Avunalo were charged with violating the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) conditions stipulated by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and of depositing marram into Lwajjali Wetland.
Ray, the director of Turkish company Yaman Construction Ltd, and Avunalo, the manager of Rockbuild Ltd, a contractor for site clearing, were arrested on June 30.
They were found backfilling Lwajjali Wetland in Gongobe Village, Goma Division, Sseeta Parish, Mukono Municipality in Mukono District.
Yaman Construction Ltd, a concrete products manufacturing factory, had been issued an ESIA certificate (No. NEMA/EIA/18516) on June, 14, 2024, in accordance with the National Environment Act No.5 of 2019.
The certificate was intended for concrete manufacturing, not for backfilling wetlands.
Court was told on June,30 at Gongobe village, Seeta Goma division, Mukono district, the Turkish investor failed to comply with the conditions of the environment and social impact assessment certificate issued to Yaman Construction Limited by extending beyond the area authorized in the certificate of approval.
In sentencing, the trial magistrate said whereas the maximum penalty for the offence is shs2.6 billion in fine or serving 26 years in jail, she was lenient since the accused pleaded guilty and only sentenced him to a shs200 million fine.
The company employee, Eric Avunalo was only cautioned since he didn’t know the area where he was backfilling murram was out of the approved area since he was acting on instructions of his boss.
The magistrate said the sentence should serve a warning to other investors on the dangers of degrading the environment.
