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By Emmy Allio and Felix Osike
An officer appointed by State House to fight illegal timber dealings has been sacked after he refused to release timber connected to the Minister of Lands, Water and Environment, Col. Kahinda Otafiire.
Capt. James Okello was on September 10 fired from his liaison office at the Forestry Department, according to documents seen by the New Vision.
The acting Commissioner for Forestry, Deus Byarugaba, wrote the termination letter on the orders of the minister. He also asked Okello to return the department’s vehicle, cut off facilitation and urged him to stop engaging in timber monitoring.
“The status of this officer has been a subject of discussion for sometime now. This has now been finalised and a letter informing us of the decision shall soon arrive from the minister.
“It has been decided that Capt. Fred James Okello be withdrawn from the duty of timber monitoring and return to his former unit,” wrote B
yarugaba.
Attempts to reach Otafiire for a comment were futile.
The Minister of State for Environment, Lt. Gen. Jeje Odongo, yesterday declined to comment, saying he has been out office for a month.
Byarugaba yesterday said Okello had been assigned other duties.
“It is not a sacking. We got other officers from other sections to assist us and he is going back to his former unit,” he said.
Following the alarming rate of deforestation in the country, President Yoweri Museveni appointed Capt. James Fred Okello in May this year as commandant of a specially-created
Forest Produce Monitoring Unit (FPMU).
The unit is charged with the duty to empower the forestry department which falls under the Ministry of Lands, Water and Environment.
FPMU, which comprises forestry officials, the Police and army personnel, falls under the Directorate of Economic Monitoring Unit of the Office of the President.
Okello’s crack team compri
sed personnel of the Special Revenue Protection Services (SRPS) of the State House.
He was replaced as head of FPMU by two bodyguards of Col. Otafiire. The New Vision has identified them as Lt. Swaib Mugambe and Corporal Swaib Butengenene, who is believed to be a nephew of the minister.
The sacking comes after Okello rejected Byarugaba’s directive to release the minister’s timber. Forestry sources blame the rise in illicit timber trade on Byarugaba’s weakness.
On August 2, Byarugaba wrote to Okello saying, “Could you please liaise to make sure that the minister’s truck is released and provide the driver with some escorts to a store on 6th street Industrial area where it is to be off-loaded.”
The Fuso truck registration number UAE 680T was carrying 320 pieces of mahogany timber 12 x 2 x 14 from the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was impounded by the SRPS personnel on Mityana-Mubende road. But Okello insisted that Otafiire should forfeit the t
imber to the state and pay fines for each of the trucks.
In another letter of August 11, 2003, Byarugaba asked the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands to direct Okello to release another five trucks carrying assorted sizes of Otafiire’s mahogany timber.
“Following our telephone discussion this morning August 11, 2003. It was agreed I discussed with Capt. Okello and have the following trucks impounded with illegal timber (mahogany assorted sizes) belonging to Hon. Kahinda Otafiire released,” Byarugaba’s letter said.
“Apparently, Captain Okello has refused the whole idea. He said that Hon. Minister forfeit the timber to the State and pay fines for each truck,” he ended his letter where he listed registration numbers of trucks impounded as UAA 644H (Fuso), UAA 688R (Fuso), UAD 968X (Fuso), UAE 742F( Fuso) and UAD 042Z (Isuzu).
Byarugaba yesterday denied any knowledge of Otafiire’s timber. “If there is any such timber, I don’t know about
it. You are telling me news,” he said on phone.
On September 9, Byarugaba again wrote to Okello asking him to release timber belonging to Kangara Kamango, a Congolese businessman.
“This is to inform you that there was an understanding between Hon. Col. Kahinda Otafiire and the Congolese businessman to transport his timber from Lwempunu in Hoima to Ndeeba in Kampala although they do not have our movement permit and the timber are chain (power) sawn,” the commissioner’s letter said.
The Government recently banned the use of power saws in harvesting timber.
“You are therefore requested to allow him pass as you monitor some sections of the roads, but not cause it to be brought to the Forest department headquarters at Nakawa,” wrote Byarugaba.
Situational reports indicate that since Okello’s appointment in May, revenue from public auctions of timber recovered in four months amounted to sh180m. More timber worth sh100m is due to be auctioned
this month.
Recently, Byarugaba said when illegal timber is impounded, it is forfeited to the state and the lorry owners pay fines ranging from sh0.5m to sh1m as provided for in the Forest Produce Fees and Licenses Order, 2000.
On August 25, 2003, The New Vision in a spotlight story revealed that ministers, MPs and senior UPDF, Police and forestry officers were facilitating the depletion of forest reserves at a high rate.
State House sources said a meeting with Otafiire and other stakeholders is being called to iron out the misunderstandings.
Details from Forestry sources revealed that in the past four months, six Cabinet ministers, among them a deputy prime minister, lost their illegally acquired timber to FPMU.
During the same period, the crack unit impounded timber belonging to six army colonels, two majors, seven captains and four lieutenants.
State House sources said FPMU was established following a public outcry that most ve
hicles carrying timber were being escorted by the army and the Police.
In another development, three SRPS personnel, who impounded one of Otafiire’s lorries, said they were on September 9, beaten up on the orders of a lieutenant in the Military Police.
Sgt. Habib Mukwaya, Boniface Ojera and Bob Okello reported their cases to Jinja road police station.
“We are annoyed that the police is reluctant to pursue our case. Our crime was that we impounded the lorry which was carrying the minister’s timber,” one of them said.
Published on: Wednesday, 17th September, 2003 |
