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Bamugemereire blasts judges, courts over land grabbing

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A Court of Appeal judge has in a no-holds-barred missive exposed the rot in courts and Judiciary, offered evidence on how judges connive with land grabbers, and lashed out at what she called the “wanton abuse” of criminal justice system.

Justice Catherine Bamugemereire, who also chairs the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters has condemned “bogus judgements and orders” in the eviction of bibanja holders, and warned that if the Judiciary, the third arm of the State, “does not rise to the occasion, it will be captured wholly by land grabbers and used as a catalyst of untold social distress arising from pressure on land”.

Justice Bamugemereire’s verbal assault on the abuse of courts at a news conference on Friday, came four years after Anup Singh Choudry, a retired High Court judge also complained about corruption in the ‘temple of justice’ and accused senior lawyers and judges of conniving with the Attorney General’s office to defraud “impoverished” Ugandans.

Call for action
The judge called for stern action against a racket of ‘mafias’ in the country’s judicial system.
Criticising judges, Justice Bamugemereire said her team encountered a rising number of orders, rulings, judgments and injunctions entered by judicial officers which have led to eviction of thousands of bibanja holders [bona fide tenants] or giving away protected land like forest reserves and wetlands countrywide. She has recommended an urgent review of all judgments issued by the courts on matters of land.

Judiciary’s senior communications officer Solomon Muyita told Sunday Monitor that the Judiciary’s top management would convene soon next week to respond to Justice Bamugemereire’ s concerns.
He said the meeting will come up with possible solutions, adding: “There has been engagements before and the Judiciary also appeared and gave their position on some of those issues.”

Bamugemereire’s full statement

Date: October 26, 2018

Press release on the presenting role of the judiciary in catalysing rising land distress, grabbing of protected and fragile areas causing landlessness and a state of lawlessness.
The commission of inquiry has recently been faced with a number of developments on land for which a deserving press brief needs to be given. Notably, in the process of inquiring into the effectiveness of law, policies and processes of land in Uganda, the commission of inquiry has encountered a rising number of orders, rulings, judgments, and injunctions entered by judicial officers which have led to the eviction of thousands of bibanja holders or the giving away of land protected by gazette as a forest or wetland.

In a recent judgment, arising out of Civil Suit 885 of 2017, Justice Godfrey Namundi, on June 28 2018, ruled that about one square mile that is actually part of Kajjansi Central Forest Reserve belonged to Eria Mubiru, Vivian Keza and Peninah Busingye Kabingani, simply because they have land titles over the land.
This ruling was made in spite of the fact that a copy of the Legal Notices gazetting the forest, dated 1932, 1948, 1968 and 1998, were tendered as evidence before court. The judge declared National Forestry Authority (NFA) trespassers on the “forest reserve” because they had attempted to stop the encroachment, and awarded costs of the suit plus general damages of Shs200m against NFA. This judgement carries the import of degazetting a central forest reserve. Degazetting is the sole preserve of the Parliament of Uganda and not the High Court of the Judiciary of Uganda.

Relatedly, up to four court orders have been granted over Namanve Forest Reserve where titles were issued on an existent forest reserve. As a result of originating summons No. 9 of 2014, up to 50 private security guards were deployed on the land triggering a stand-off between UPDF [Uganda People’s Defence Forces] and NFA rangers. In this case, the court directed the commissioner of land registration to create hitherto non-existent plots in the forest reserve. Some judges and high-level government officers have been named in this forest reserve grab. The commission notes that speculators who get insider information on where future projects will be situated, desire titles in areas such as central forest reserves hoping to be paid astronomical compensation arising out infrastructural project over such areas. The preceding area is one such area bringing a convergence of projects such as the Bukasa Port, the Standard Gauge Railway, among others.

Further, more than 12 square miles of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve have been handed to Hoima Sugar Works through a ruling of court that reversed the cancellation of title to the land by the commissioner of land registration.
The commission continues to investigate sand mining in Lwera where individuals collude with officials from National Environmental Management Agency (Nema). Nema grants licences to mine the sand. The individuals then use these licences to apply for lands titles whose issuance contravenes the law as they are made over gazetted areas. Such activities have threatened fish breeding areas of Lake Victoria whose effects can be potentially catastrophic.
Multiple evictions in Entebbe, Wakiso, Mityana and Mubende [districts] have all been authorised by judicial officers. Some of these matters are under investigation by the commission.

Daily Monitor

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WITNESS RADIO MILESTONES

Uganda: Land-grab victim communities will join counterparts in commemorating the 2024 International Day of Struggle Against Industrial Plantations.

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By Witness Radio team.

On September 21, 2024, land-grabs communities under their group, the Informal Alliance for communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda for the first will join fellow victims in commemorating the International Day of Struggle Against Industrial Plantations, highlighting the growing threat posed by large-scale monoculture plantations.

These industrial plantations have led to the forced eviction of millions of people across Uganda, displacing indigenous communities and stripping them of their land rights and livelihoods. Driven by multinational companies and government-backed investors, with the support of government and private security entities, these evictions prioritize profits over people.

Among the many Ugandan communities still suffering the devastating impact of monoculture plantations are over 30,000 people who were violently displaced from the Namwasa and Luwunga forest reserves between 2006 and 2010 to make way for the New Forests Company’s pine and eucalyptus plantations. In addition, thousands of local and indigenous communities were illegally evicted to make way for palm oil plantations in Kalangala district. Nearly 4,000 people had their land grabbed by the Formosa tree planting company in the Mubende district, and over 35,000 were displaced in Kiryandongo to make way for industrial agriculture to grow maize, soybean, and sugarcane plantations, among others. These and other affected communities united and formed the Informal Alliance for Victims affected by irresponsible land-based investments to defend their rights in early 2019.

The International Day of Struggle Against Industrial Plantations was first celebrated on September 21, 2004, during a community network meeting fighting against industrial tree plantations in Brazil. Since then, it has become a day when organizations, communities, and movements worldwide come together to celebrate resistance and raise their voices, demanding an end to the relentless expansion of industrial tree plantations.

In Uganda, on Saturday, September 21, the 2024 commemoration will start with a radio program in a local dilect (Luganda) purposely to highlight weird experiences faced by communities displaced by large-scale monoculture plantations, struggles for justice, and holding companies and financiers accountable. A one-hour radio program starting at 10 a.m. EAT will feature leaders of the loose alliance. Listen to the radio program on Witness Radio platforms on the website www.witnessradio.org or download the Witness Radio App on playstore.

Later, land-grab victims in Uganda will join their colleagues from Africa and other countries around the globe in a webinar meeting aimed at fostering organizations’ and rural communities’ connection across member countries and communities to build confidence, share experiences, strengthen our campaign to reignite hopes and forge a bond of understanding between the Informal Alliance and victim communities shattered by destructive plantations as well as deterring future plantations expansion.

The Webinar will start at 3PM EAT and will be aired live on Witness Radio platforms on the website www.witnessradio.org or download the Witness Radio App on playstore.

Please note: Both the radio show and Webinar will be live on Witness Radio on www.witnessradio.org or download the witness radio app on playstore to listen live.

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WITNESS RADIO MILESTONES

Uganda: CSOs claim Agilis Partners forcibly evicting local communities to pave way for agribusiness; company did not respond

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Witness Radio and its partners have alleged that thousands of people from local and Indigenous communities have been forcefully evicted from their land to make way for Agilis Partners Limited’s large-scale farming operations, in violation of international human rights law.

They have raised concerns about severe human rights abuses including forced evictions and lack of prompt, fair, and adequate compensation; violations of Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent; abduction, arrest, torture, and judicial harassment of human rights defenders, and alleged sexual violence against women and girls, as well as other negative social and environmental impacts.

Witness Radio and its partners representing PAPs have written to Agilis Partners on several occasions seeking a dialogue between the company and people who have been harmed however, the company has not responded to their communications.

In a letter to Agilis Partners in June 2024, 36 civil society organizations called on Agilis Partners and its financial backers to take immediate action to stop the human rights abuses and harassment committed against community members, engage in dialogue with the communities, and restore the lands to the people that have been displaced.

We invited Agilis Partners to respond to the letter, the company did not respond.

Company Responses

Agilis Partners. No Response.

Source: business-humanrights.org

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Breaking: Witness Radio and Partners to Launch Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation, and Advocacy Project Tomorrow.

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By Witness Radio Team.

Witness Radio, in collaboration with Dan Church Aid (DCA) and the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD), is set to launch the Monitoring, Documentation, and Advocacy for Human Rights in Uganda (MDA-HRU) project tomorrow, 22nd February 2024, at Kabalega Resort Hotel in Hoima District.

The project, funded by the European Union, aims to promote the protection and respect for human rights, and enable access to remedy where violations occur especially in the Mid-Western and Karamoja sub-regions where private sector actors are increasingly involved in land-based investments (LBIs) through improved documentation, and evidence-based advocacy.

The three-year project, which commenced in October 2023, focuses its activities in the Mid-Western sub-region, covering Bulisa, Hoima, Masindi, Kiryandongo, Kikuube, Kagadi, Kibale, and Mubende districts, and Karamoja sub-region, covering Moroto, Napak, Nakapiripirit, Amudat, Nabilatuk, Abim, Kaabong, Kotido, and Karenga districts.

The project targets individuals and groups at high risk of human rights violations, including Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs). It also engages government duty bearers such as policymakers and implementers in relevant ministries and local governments, recognizing their crucial role in securing land and environmental rights. Additionally, the project involves officials from institutional duty bearers including the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Equal Opportunities Commission, and courts, among others.

Representatives from the international community, faith leaders, and business actors are also included in the project’s scope, particularly those involved in land-based investments (LBIs) impacting the environment.

The project was initially launched in Moroto for the Karamoja region on the 19th of this month with the leadership of the National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD).

According to the project implementors,  the action is organized into four activity packages aimed at; enhancing the capacity and skills of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) and Land and Environmental Defenders (LEDs) in monitoring, documentation, reporting (MDR), and protection, establishing and reinforcing reporting and documentation mechanisms for advocacy and demand for corporate and government accountability;  providing response and support to HRDs and marginalized communities; and lastly facilitating collaboration and multi-stakeholder engagements that link local and national issues to national and international frameworks and spaces.

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