Court ordered the disposal of more than 2,600 bags of charcoal and 1,700 pieces of timber illegally harvested from Bugoma Central Forest Reserve, directing that proceeds from the sale be channeled back into protecting the threatened forest.
The ruling was delivered by Chief Magistrate Kamasanyu Gladys of the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court at Makindye on August 21, 2026, following an application by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
UWA told court that the forest products had accumulated at the Kisindi Forest Offices inside the reserve after they were impounded during operations between May and July 2026 shortly after the Authority assumed control and management of Bugoma.
According to court records, the suspects behind the illegal activities fled the scene and efforts to arrest them have been unsuccessful, leaving UWA to incur high costs storing the exhibits.
In her ruling, Magistrate Kamasanyu described the volume of seized products as disturbing, noting that such quantities had been recovered within a very short period. She observed that Bugoma Central Forest Reserve is a crucial biodiversity hotspot, citing illegal logging, charcoal burning and encroachment as major threats facing the forest.
The court ruled that disposing of the abandoned products was in the interest of justice, but insisted the disposal must contribute to conservation.
Under the orders, 50 bags of charcoal will be delivered to the Standards, Utilities and Wildlife Court for preparing porridge for inmates, while the remaining charcoal will be sold with all proceeds going to UWA for protection of Bugoma. All seized timber will be used to make furniture and construct accommodation for UWA staff deployed in the reserve. UWA has been given 60 days to file a report detailing how the disposal was executed.
The ruling comes at a time when intensified enforcement is revealing the immense pressure on Bugoma. UWA says between May and July alone, its operations recovered 3,721 bags of illegally produced charcoal and 697 pieces of timber, while 336 suspects were arrested for offences including illegal cultivation, transportation of forest products and unauthorized entry into the reserve.
Bugoma is one of western Uganda’s most important forest ecosystems, hosting chimpanzees, forest elephants, primates, and hundreds of bird and plant species. It also forms a critical wildlife corridor in the Albertine Rift linking Bugoma and Budongo.
However, the forest has faced years of degradation. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that about 6,000 hectares of Bugoma have been affected by encroachment linked to illegal logging, charcoal production and farming.
Conservationists say protecting the forest is vital not only for wildlife but for maintaining ecological connectivity and supporting community-based conservation in the wider Bugoma-Budongo landscape.
For Bugoma, where every illegally felled tree means loss of habitat, the court’s decision offers a conservation dividend, turning the proceeds of crime into resources to protect what remains of the forest.
