By Witness Radio team.
A Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Hoima City in Hoima district has issued new criminal summonses against the thirteen (13) suspects including a Ugandan Army General, Hoima Rural District Police Commander, a Presidential representative among others to appear in Court on the 13th of November 2023 and be charged with several criminal and human rights violation offenses committed while forcefully evicting over 2500 local families to give way for an East African Crude Oil pipeline (EACOP) project.
Brig. Gen. Peter Akankunda Nabasa, Gafayo Ndawula William, Kyakashari Micheal a Deputy Resident District Commissioner in Hoima, one Oketcha Micheal, Bogere Patrick,a Hoima Rural District Police Commander, one Kiiza Nathan Byarugonjo, one Oromo Luzira, a Local Council One Secreatary for Runga, one Mukindo Bosco, Okethi Bosco, Oming Jacob, Muswa Micheal, Kawiya Henry, Ningaling Joseph, and others still at large accused of raping women, defilement, arson and criminal trespass among other offences.
The 1st accused person is the Deputy Commander of Uganda Peoples Defense Forces, First Division Kakiri in Wakiso District; The 2nd accused person is a Businessman with Businesses in Hoima District; the 3rd Accused is Deputy RDC Hoima District. The 4th accused is the Hoima Rural District Police Commander. The 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & and 13th accused persons are residents of Kapapi Village and were agents of the evictors.
On Thursday, the 12th of October 2023, the 13 suspects had been scheduled to appear before the Hoima Magistrates Court to take pleas in Criminal Case File No. 877 of 2023. However, the proceedings did not commence as the trial magistrate was absent while other suspects had not turned up in court.
In the courtroom, only four of the thirteen suspects, namely Gafayo William Ndawula, Oketcha Micheal, Oromo Luzira, lawyers for Brig. Gen. Peter Akankunda Nabasa were present as required by the court summons. Notably, suspects like Kyakashari Micheal, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner of Hoima district, and Bogere Patrick, a Hoima Rural District Police Commander, among others defied the court summons.
On 11th/09//2023, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project-Affected Persons (PAPs), through their lawyers Arinaitwe Peter and Company Advocates started a private criminal proceeding against the thirteen suspects in an effort to hold suspects accountable for their criminality and human rights violations.
Each charge attracts different punishments on conviction, as shown below;
Section 124 of the Penal Code states that the punishment for rape on conviction is liable to suffer death; the punishment for assault on court conviction is five years; the punishment threatening violence on court conviction does not exceed four years; the punishment for arson on court conviction is fourteen years; and Punishment for robbery, one has to suffer life imprisonment among others.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons and their agents in the wee hours (1:00 AM) local time on February 10th, 2023, raided people’s homes without a court order with dozens of unidentified armed individuals, donning Uganda Police Force (UPF) and Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) uniforms.
Acting under the orders of DPC Bogere and Brigadier Nabasa, along with armed guards from Magnum, a private security company, the suspects and their agents fired live bullets and tear gas into their houses, sexually abused women, set people’s houses ablaze, caused physical assaults and kidnaps, looted livestock, and food items and forcefully evicted project affected families off their land.
The actions of the accused led to the grabbing of 1294.99 hectares that were being lawfully occupied and cultivated by thousands of locals in the villages of Waaki North, Kapapi Central, Waaki South, Runga, and Kiryatete within Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties in Hoima district.
According to research findings by Witness Radio, the individuals involved in the Kapapi land grab are targeting to benefit from the potential compensation intended for community members, given that their land was identified to be impacted by the Tilenga Resettlement Action Plan 4, an EACOP project.
In one of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) reports, Total Energies Uganda identified Kapapi, Runga, Waaki, and Kiryatete villages as areas that will be affected by the proposed Tilenga Feeder Pipeline Component (RAP 4).
On the 13th of November, 2023, all suspects are expected to enter their pleas regarding the charges filed against them.
