Outrage Erupts Over Government’s Allocation of Kitubulu Forest Land to Private Developer
Entebbe, Uganda – A wave of public outcry has followed the government’s decision to allocate 150 acres of the protected Kitubulu Central Forest Reserve to the Tian Tang Group, a private developer, for the construction of a hotel.
The announcement, made by a government minister and first reported by the Daily Monitor on Monday, October 13, 2025, has sparked a fierce online campaign under the hashtag #SaveKitubulu, with environmental activists and concerned citizens condemning the move as short-sighted and destructive.
At the forefront of the protest is Fabrice Brad Rulinda, who has articulated a passionate defense of the forest. In a series of posts, Rulinda emphasized that Kitubulu is far from “empty land.”
“Kitubulu is not empty land — it’s a living barrier that holds back rising lake waters,” he stated. “Each rainy season it silently absorbs the flood that would otherwise wash through homes and roads. We can build hotels anywhere. We can’t rebuild this forest once it’s gone.”
He further argued that the fight is not against investment but for responsible development. “This is not a fight against investors. It’s a fight for truth and responsibility. Development must never come from deception or destruction. Entebbe’s hospitality sector already has capacity — what we need now is conservation.”
The environmental organization Earth and Rights Initiative has also joined the chorus of dissent, highlighting the forest’s critical ecological role. In earlier posts, the group explained that Kitubulu CFR is “one of the remaining protected forest patches within Entebbe Municipality,” playing a “vital role in water purification, biodiversity, and climate regulation.”
Public sentiment on social media echoes these concerns, with users expressing fear over increased flooding and the irreversible loss of a natural asset. One supporter, Sonja Ilaila Gihanga, praised the advocacy efforts, stating, “This is what happens when you have an empathetic Mayor who cares about not just his people, but the environment as well. This Forest MUST remain.”
As the #SaveKitubulu movement gains traction online, the spotlight is now on the government to respond to the growing demands for accountability and the preservation of a ecosystem that many believe is indispensable to the region’s environmental stability.
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