The Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) 5 Infantry Division has distributed impounded charcoal to vulnerable households in Lira City, turning an environmental enforcement operation into community support.
The charcoal, seized during anti-charcoal operations in Baralegi Parish in Otuke District, had been kept at the Lira military barracks for months as the army intensified implementation of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s Executive Order of 19 May 2023, which outlawed commercial charcoal burning in Northern Uganda.
Maj Gen Keith Katungi, Commander of the 5 Infantry Division, led the handover. He said the charcoal distribution is not only a humanitarian gesture but also part of a wider national push to save Uganda’s fast-depleting forests.
“Since 1960, more than 60 per cent of Uganda’s forest cover has been lost to charcoal burning and deforestation. This operation is meant to reverse that trend and protect the country’s future.”
Security teams have stepped up surveillance in the region, stopping more than 120 trucks ferrying charcoal in violation of the presidential directive.
The intercepted charcoal, which had accumulated at the barracks, was given out to residents identified as most in need.
Lira Resident City Commissioner (RCC) Egole Lawrence, who joined the distribution, praised the UPDF for conducting the operation with integrity, especially when confronted with attempts by charcoal dealers to influence officers.
He warned that the consequences remain severe for those who ignore the directive. “Those who violate the ban risk having their trucks auctioned and facing prosecution,” he said.
Environmental authorities say the enforcement remains critical, as unchecked exploitation of natural resources continues to accelerate forest loss, worsen climate change, and threaten the livelihoods of communities in northern Uganda.