Constitutional Court dismisses 2002 petition against gazetting Kanungu villages into Bwindi national park

The Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed a petition filed in 2002 by lawyer Stephen Turyatunga Ikamukuba against a statutory instrument that made villages in Mpungu sub-county, Kanungu, part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In a judgment written by Justice John Mike Musisi, the court held that consulting the Kanungu district council was enough and that the question of compulsory acquisition without compensation had already been settled by the Supreme Court; it said affected people could still seek compensation in the proper courts.