“Be the change that you wish to see in the world”- MAHTMA GHANDI.

In 2007, the future of the largest rainforest in Uganda known as MABIRA FOREST was in balance as it was on the verge of being given away to the Sugar Corporation of Uganda Limited (SCOUL) for sugarcane growing. This was the time when the Uganda economy was in crisis. Imagine sleeping when a Kg of sugar is at 5000/= and then waking up the following day when it is double the price! I believe any sane person would start wondering if they actually were on the right planet. At that rate of inflation, any lay person would justify the government’s move to give away one of the greatest treasures in country but this can’t be the case if you are a conservationist. Different conservationists tried advising the government on how the move would ruin the area containing hundreds of species. This however didn’t work as the government continued executing its plans.

This was the time when the environment enthusiasts needed someone to step up and put an end to the government plans as Mother Nature was endangered. As the environmentalists were still uncertain about what to do, here came a 43 year old woman shouting on top of her voice and carrying placards written on “SAVE MABIRA”. And guess who it was!” BEATRICE ANYWAR”. At that age, one would expect such a lady probably to be at home baby-sitting her children and here she was on the streets screaming on top of her voice to “SAVE MABIRA”. Her voice indeed didn’t go unheard. Different media platforms got interested in her works and she started appearing on these platforms. She was later joined by a group of youth in a demonstration that was meant to be peaceful. However as time passed by, the peaceful protest turned violent. It actually became a global concern when the charged crowds who were carrying placards with slogans like, “FOR 1 TREE CUT, 5 INDIANS DIE” attacked the Asians and destroyed their property. During the scuffle, one of the Indians was stoned to death and the others severely beaten. This left in question whether the meant to be peaceful demonstration had turned into racial violence. When this happened, the president of Uganda got angry and locked her up in prison. “I locked her up in Luzira prison because she had gone too far starting a riot in Kampala” said president Museveni.

She was shortly released from prison due to the opposition pressure who were demanding her release. The protest was a success and the Sugar Company was relocated to one of the Kampala suburbs to grow their sugar canes. This is how she got her nick name “MAMA MABIRA” which means “MOTHER OF MABIRA”. “Mama Mabira may not exactly mean that Beatrice gave birth to the forest, but it could as well mean that she gave it a second lease on life, writes John K Abimanyi (renowned Ugandan journalist) .The impact of her protest was felt by the president who later made her the state minister for environment in his new cabinet. Besides her ministerial duties, she is also currently serving as the incumbent Member Of Parliament Kitgum Municipality in Uganda. Such a hero cannot go unnoticed when it comes to recognition of those ‘People who endeavored to better the environment’

Green Cheers and not to forget, let’s fight COVID-19 together! Keep Safe.

United we stand, divided we fall!

Yours ELVIS SIMON MUPERE (eco-generation ambassador in Uganda)

REFERENCES

The New Vision(Kampala) 12th April 2007

The guardian, 12th April 2007