Summary:
- The court heard that on October 10, 2024, Enock Muhindo, a resident of Kinyateke, entered the protected area of Kaleberyo in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
KASESE: The Kasese Chief Magistrate’s Court, presided over by Chief Magistrate Betty Ajok, has ordered a 53-year-old man to pay a fine of two million shillings or serve a three-year prison sentence for entering Queen Elizabeth National Park in Kasese District without permission.
The court heard that on October 10, 2024, Enock Muhindo, a resident of Kinyateke, entered the protected area of Kaleberyo in Queen Elizabeth National Park. He was arrested by an officer from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, who found him chasing a waterbuck.
When questioned by Chief Magistrate Ajok about the incident, Mr. Muhindo admitted to entering the park without authorization and pleaded with the court for forgiveness.
The magistrate read out the charges against him, which included unlawful entry into a national park and disturbing the peace of the wildlife.
In related cases, the same court has set November 15, 2024, as the judgment date for Batista Imanalimwe, 31, who was arrested on August 30, 2024, while allegedly burning charcoal in Mt. Rwenzori National Park, near Mbata in Bwesumbu Sub-County, Busongora North, Kasese District.
On that day, the court will also deliver a judgment for Lawrence Baguma, 36, a resident of Kasenyi in Lake Katwe Sub-County. Baguma was reportedly found by UWA officers on Akika Island in Queen Elizabeth National Park with a panga, without permission to be in the area.
