By Witness Radio team.
In a glaring display of injustice, the Masaka High Court ruled against 80 Project-Affected Persons (PAPs) from the Lwengo, Kyotera, and Rakai districts on October 1, 2024. The court allowed the government to deposit the compensation in Court accounts, delivering yet another blow to the marginalized communities of Uganda.
Low-income families, smallholder farmers, and landowners who derive their livelihoods from grabbed land are the latest victims of the government’s aggressive push for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
Last year, the Hoima High Court set a precedent and directed the government to deposit money (compensation) for the 42 households on the court’s accounts. The Project Affected Persons (PAPs) refused the money, saying that it was very little compared to the size of their land.
Article 26 of the 1995 Constitution guarantees the right to property and the right to fair and adequate compensation in cases of compulsory acquisition.
Many low-income families in the southern region of Uganda have made the same argument, rejecting compensation because it is inadequate. Others are embroiled in land disputes, the rightful owners have not been identified, and some households lack land titles. Yet, despite these glaring issues, the government is bulldozing its way through these legal and moral quagmires to serve the interests of foreign oil companies.
The High Court on Monday, October 1st, 2024, granted vacant possession of the affected people’s land so that it may be used for the EACOP project activities. Eviction and demolition orders against the affected people and the applicant were discharged from any liabilities arising out of any claim and/or order arising out of the orders being sought by the government.
The court also ruled that the rejected compensation should be deposited into the account of the Registrar of the High Court.
This ruling attack not only 80 individuals but also the citizens of Uganda, whose lives and livelihoods are rooted in the land they have legally occupied and cultivated for generations.
Witness Radio is concerned that the government is continuously weaponizing our legal system to facilitate corporate land grabs under the guise of national interest. “Such actions are weakening the Judiciary further as citizens continue to lose trust in it,” said Witness Radio legal team.
The EACOP is a planned 1,443km pipeline to be constructed from Western Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. The pipeline is expected to transport crude oil from Uganda’s Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields to export markets.
Key shareholders in this venture, Total Energies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, are expected to reap the project’s benefits. In contrast, the communities that would be the project beneficiaries are left with nothing but broken promises.
