Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke says enforcement targets regions covered by a 2023 presidential directive, as questions persist over charcoal imports, alternative cooking fuels and the suspension of operations ordered by Parliament.
Police have clarified that the crackdown on charcoal production and trade is not a nationwide ban, but an enforcement of presidential restrictions covering specific regions, including Northern Uganda.
Police spokesperson ACP Kituuma Rusoke said the warnings he issued against charcoal transporters, including threats of arrest and vehicle impoundment, were intended to enforce the directive in areas where the restrictions apply.
Speaking to journalists at Police Headquarters in Naguru, Kampala, Rusoke said his remarks had been misunderstood as announcing a countrywide prohibition.
“I was following a directive from the President. My issue was not about the whole of Uganda, but about the areas where the restrictions apply,” Rusoke said.
He explained that enforcement targets charcoal originating from regions covered by the restrictions rather than all charcoal production and trade across the country.
Rusoke also raised questions about how security agencies would distinguish charcoal imported from neighbouring South Sudan from consignments produced in Ugandan areas where the trade is prohibited.
“We need to establish how someone can differentiate between charcoal coming from South Sudan and charcoal produced in Uganda,” he said.
The clarification comes amid public concern over police warnings that motorists, traders and others transporting charcoal risk arrest and vehicle impoundment, including those carrying small quantities.
On October 12, police announced intensified operations against illegal charcoal dealing in Northern Uganda following the seizure of consignments and arrests in Amuru and Pakwach districts.
The crackdown is based on Presidential Executive Order No. 3 of 2023, issued on May 19, 2023, which restricts charcoal burning and trade in West Nile, Northern Uganda, Karamoja and the Teso sub-region. The directive seeks to address forest destruction and environmental degradation associated with charcoal production.
However, the enforcement has raised concerns among households and traders who depend on charcoal for cooking and their livelihoods. In urban areas, many households rely on charcoal because alternative cooking fuels, including electricity and liquefied petroleum gas, may be too expensive or inaccessible.
On October 14, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oboth-Oboth directed the suspension of enforcement pending a government statement explaining the policy and the availability of alternative cooking energy sources.
The directive brought the enforcement campaign into the spotlight, with questions emerging over how the restrictions would be implemented without disproportionately affecting households and businesses that depend on charcoal.
Rusoke’s latest remarks seek to clarify the geographical scope of the crackdown, but questions remain over how officers will establish the origin of charcoal consignments, particularly those transported across borders or through regions not covered by the restrictions.
The government is expected to address the policy’s implementation and the provision of alternative cooking fuels as Parliament considers concerns surrounding the enforcement campaign.