A marijuana cultivation project in Kanungu District has been shut down after authorities accused its operators of growing cannabis without the required licence. The project, situated on a two-acre piece of land in Kameme Village, Kibimbiri Parish, Kihihi Sub-county, was closed on Monday evening during a joint operation involving security agencies and officials from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
The operation was led by Kanungu Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Gaddie Rugaaju Ahimbisibwe following reports that cannabis was being cultivated illegally at the site. According to Rugaaju, officials found the facility locked on arrival, while workers inside allegedly refused to open the main gate.
He said security personnel were forced to use reasonable force to gain entry before questioning the workers about the project’s legal status. The workers referred the officials to the project managers. Rugaaju said the managers presented a cultivation licence issued in the name of Healing Herm Company Limited.
However, authorities suspected that the licence belonged to another company, SGA Global Agriculture, raising concerns over whether the operation was legally authorized. As a result, Rugaaju ordered the immediate suspension of all activities at the site pending verification of the project’s legal status.
Three project managers were arrested during the operation and are being held at Kihihi Police Station as investigations continue. Their identities had not been disclosed by press time. Rugaaju emphasized that Uganda only permits the cultivation of cannabis under a strict legal framework governing medicinal marijuana and that all operators must obtain the necessary licences and approvals from the relevant authorities. He warned that anyone found operating outside the law would be prosecuted.
Uganda legalized the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes following the enactment of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2023, which was assented to by President Yoweri Museveni in February 2024.
The law requires growers to obtain licences issued by the Ministry of Health before cultivating cannabis. It also criminalizes unlicensed cultivation, with offenders liable on conviction to a fine of up to Shs2.4 billion, or three times the market value of the prohibited plant, imprisonment for up to five years, or both-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
