CHARCOAL BAN SCOPE: Police Clarify Enforcement Restricted to Northern & Eastern Regions

The Uganda Police Force has issued a critical clarification regarding ongoing security operations against the illegal charcoal trade, addressing widespread public confusion and dispelling false reports that the enforcement applies nationwide.

Setting the record straight during a media briefing, Police Spokesperson Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kituuma Rusoke stated that many citizens had jumped to hasty generalisations without reviewing the specific legal framework governing the operation.

ACP Rusoke emphasized that current security operations directly execute Executive Order No. 03 of 2023, a presidential directive whose geographic scope is strictly confined to specific northern and eastern sub-regions facing severe ecological degradation.

Key Highlights of the Police Clarification

 Restricted Regional Jurisdiction: The active ban and joint security operations apply exclusively to the West Nile, Northern Uganda (Acholi & Lango), Karamoja, and Teso sub-regions. It is not a blanket nationwide prohibition.

 Targeting Northern Deforestation: Authorities noted that the directive was tailored specifically to halt aggressive commercial tree felling, rapid deforestation, and environmental destruction within fragile northern ecosystems.

 Roadside Trade and Buyers Included: Within the designated sub-regions, enforcement is comprehensive. Security personnel are authorized to intercept commercial harvesters, roadside traders, buyers, and motorists transporting charcoal across regional checkpoints.

 Prior Notice to Travelers: ACP Rusoke explained that publicizing the exact operational boundaries ensures motorists, traders, and buyers traveling to or sourcing products from these sub-regions are fully informed, noting that claims of ignorance will not be accepted at security barriers.

ALSO READ:

• Court Martial Convicts Wakiso Taxi Driver Over UPDF Attire
• Court Martial Sentences Two State Informers to Death
• Renegade Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu Apprehended in Soroti City Over Subversive Activities
• Abraham Luzzi Slasts UEDCL After Blackout Interrupts Birthday Party
• Celebrated Comedian Kapere Passes Away

Preventing Ecological Collapse in the North

Executive Order No. 03 was issued in response to alarming rates of forest cover loss across the greater north, where large-scale commercial charcoal burning threatened major indigenous tree species, including the endangered Shea butter tree (Vitellaria paradoxa).

While operations outside the specified sub-regions remain governed by standard forestry and environmental regulatory laws managed by local governments and NEMA, the heavy security interventions involving police checkpoints and asset impoundments remain legally tied to the designated northern belt.

Police have urged commercial transporters and fuel traders to verify the exact origin of timber and charcoal products to avoid impoundment when crossing regional highway checkpoints.