A court in Kampala on Tuesday convicted seven Chinese nationals for illegally drilling in the Lwera wetland in central Uganda. The group, initially pleading not guilty and claiming they were “just tourists,” later changed their plea to guilty.
The convicts, Liang Cheng Wu, Ui Wen Hu, Lian Cheng Xiang, Hu Dong Xu, Xie Gong Zuo, Ge Xing Liang, and Wang Piechuan, appeared before the Makindye-based Chief Magistrate’s Court of Standards, Utilities, and Wildlife, presided over by Gladys Kamasanyu, for their bail application hearing.
They admitted to charges of conspiracy and disturbing a wetland by drilling, actions that violate Ugandan law. Their sentencing is pending.
Prosecution, led by Judith Nyamweza, presented an amended charge sheet that included the count of conspiracy to drill in Lwera wetland, implicating Double Q Company Limited in the illegal activity. Nyamweza urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the convicts, highlighting the rampant encroachment on wetlands and its detrimental effects on the environment and local residents.
“Your worship, there is a rampant habit of people encroaching on the wetlands, which has impacted the country and the nearby residents. I pray for deterrent sentences that will send a lesson to would-be offenders,” Nyamweza stated.
In their defense, the convicts, through their lawyer, pleaded for leniency, arguing that they had not wasted the court’s time and were first-time offenders.
Chief Magistrate Kamasanyu remanded the convicts until July 31 for sentencing.
According to the prosecution, the offenses occurred on July 8, 2024, at Kamuwunga Village, Magezi Kizungu Parish, Lukaya Town Council in Kalungu District. The group, along with others still at large, allegedly disturbed the Lwera Wetland System by drilling in a manner likely to have adverse effects on the wetland. They carried out these activities without any approval from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
The seven Chinese nationals were arrested by National Management Authority officers in collaboration with Uganda’s environment police.
