While most people might have moved on following their evictions from Lubigi wetland area about half a year ago, for Ruth Namuddu, the impact of the eviction still follows her.
Following her eviction by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) in June 2024, Namuddu sought temporary shelter in a tent erected on the same land.
The makeshift structure was supposed to be home for her and her family as she said she had nowhere to go. In October 2024, she was arrested and produced in court. She faces charges of failure to comply with lawful orders and notices to vacate.
Her lawyers applied for bail but the magistrate presiding over the temple of justice ruled that Ruth Namuddu does not qualify for the same since she had no known permanent place of abode.
That way, Namuddu has remained in prison for about two months. She in prison with family members and friends over the same charges, according to activist and lawyer Agather Atuhaire, who has been following up on the case.
She adds that Magistrate Siena Owomugisha of the Makindye Magistrate’s Court had set December 02 for the hearing of Ruth Namuddu’s case but was no show on that date.
She “apparently left behind instructions for the case to be adjourned to December 13th, according to Atuhaire.
On October 22, up to 23 of the Lubigi wetland returnees appeared in court. A total of six mothers were granted a non-cash bail of Shs2m upon presenting two sureties each, bonded to a 10million shillings non-cash. The rest of the returnees, 17 in number, were remanded.
You can read more on Ruth Namuddu’s troubles in the story: BIG vs SMALL FISH: Uganda’s Poor Evicted from Wetlands but Grand Destruction by the Rich & Powerful Continues, as reported HERE.
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