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Happy 2025 to you all! Please join Witness Radio again this year to protect thousands of local farmers who are losing their land to a tree plantation owned by a Taiwan investor.

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By Witness Radio team.

Dear supporters and followers, we are deeply grateful for your continued support and commitment to our cause. Your involvement is crucial as we navigate the challenges ahead. Welcome back from the festive holidays.

At Witness Radio, breaking off for a holiday was not possible because we received devastating news about the sentencing of three community activists to Muyinayina prison before the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Prisoners include, Byakatonda David, Kabuuka Levi, and Byamukama Yuda. Prisoners include, Byakatonda David, Kabuuka Levi, and Byamukama Yuda. Byamukama is the Kicucuulo Local Council One Chairperson. Their imprisonment is a grave injustice that we cannot ignore.

The situation in the Mubende district is urgent and cannot be overstated. The activists are currently held in Muyinayina prison, located in southwestern Uganda, and their immediate release is crucial.

A magistrate court in the Mubende district deemed the trio’s activities, which were aimed at defending their community’s land, criminal. This unjust ruling led to a 30-month jail sentence, a grave injustice that we cannot ignore.

We chose to sacrifice our holidays to visit the victim’s local farmers. We started with visiting prisoners at Muyinayina prison. However, upon reaching the prison, we were informed by officers at the prison’s quarter-guard that the prison authority had banned all prison visits in the country until mid-January 2025 due to the Christmas holiday. We engaged the Muyinayina prison administration about our visit as lawyers, and eventually, we were allowed in and met our clients. Despite being incarcerated, very calm, confident, and committed activists felt energized by our visit.

See brief facts from the fact-finding mission below;

  1. The investor, with the help of Mubende district police and other private security firms, has seized over 2,590 hectares so far and continues to expand.
  2. Mubende district police and investor’s workers continue to invade the homes of the community, defenders, activists, and leaders opposed to the illegal eviction in the wee hours and cause arbitrary arrests.
  3. The investor is claiming land that hosts ten (10) villages occupied by thousands of smallholder farmers.
  4. The investor’s name was established as Mr. Chang Shu-mu, commonly known as Martin Chang, and his wife was Anna Kyoheirwe.
  5. Locals report cases of violence and destruction of properties against the investor to police but are not investigated as all perpetrators are enjoying their freedoms uninterrupted.
  6. The trio claim they were unheard of before a prison sentence was passed.
  7. Locals have raised their concerns with various government offices, including the office of the Resident District Commissioner (the president’s representative at Mubende district). However, no intervention has been made, and forced evictions continue unabated.

The situation is dire and requires immediate action. We urge you to join us in demanding a review of the case file, protection of the community’s land rights, and, most importantly, a thorough investigation into the conduct of the Mubende district police and investor’s workers. Those in power must be held accountable for their actions.

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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

The joint final review of the National Land Policy 2013, a significant and collaborative effort between the government and Civil society organizations, is underway.

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By Witness Radio team.

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development (MLHUD), and in partnership with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) led by Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), a crucial final review of the National Land Policy (NLP) 2013 is taking place in Kampala.

The Consultative event is a unique and empowering opportunity for all land actors to actively contribute to shaping Uganda’s land governance framework. It seeks to engage CSOs in shaping reforms in the much-awaited National Land Policy, addressing pressing land-related concerns such as land grabbing, promoting equity in land access, and enhancing strategies for sustainable land management.

The land ministry is expected to present a revised 2024 draft of the basis for discussion and obtaining valuable input from land actors and PELUM Uganda members to boost the policy framework.

Uganda first adopted the National Land Policy in 2013 to ensure the efficient, equitable, and optimal utilization of land and land-based resources for national development. Grounded in principles drawn from the 1995 Constitution and other macro-policy frameworks such as Uganda Vision 2040 and the National Development Plan (NDP), the NLP has served as a comprehensive guideline for Uganda’s land ownership and management.

With a decade of implementation behind it, the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development is now reviewing the policy to integrate emerging trends and challenges. This review is crucial as it will ensure the policy’s relevance in the evolving land governance landscape, directly impacting your daily lives. The consultation process underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to inclusive decision-making by involving civil society and key stakeholders in policy formulation, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

The event will be broadcast live on Witness Radio. To listen live, download the Witness Radio App from the Play Store or visit our website, www.witnessradio.org.

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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Businesses, banks and activists resist EC plans to strip back human rights legislation

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Today the European Commission introduced their ‘Omnibus simplification package’ to amend key laws of the EU Green Deal, including CSDDD, CSRD and Taxonomy. The package proposes significant changes, including the removal of civil liability provisions in the CSDDD and removing 80% of companies from scope in the CSRD.

The earlier announcement from the European Commission as well as the leaked draft to reform recently-agreed EU laws such as the CSDDD has already come under attack from businesses, expertsinvestors and activists alike.

The UN Global Compact and companies including Unilever, Vattenfall and Nestlé have also expressed their concern. Nestlé Europe’s Bart Vandewaetere said that it had “been reporting on [environmental impact and human rights issues in the supply chain] ourselves for years. European regulations mean that more companies have to start doing that. That creates a level playing field and we welcome that.”

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson added: “Von der Leyen’s new Commission’s attempt to eviscerate these sustainability laws must not be agreed by the European Parliament and by the member states.”

The European Banking Federation warned that weakening the CSRD could create challenges for banks, echoing concerns from more than 160 investors who cautioned that the Omnibus package could harm investment and increase legal uncertainty.

CSOs such as the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)WWF and the Clean Clothes Campaign have also sharply criticised the proposal. The ECCJ writes the proposal is “not simplification, but full-scale deregulation designed to dismantle corporate accountability”.

Workers’ organisations and trade unions from garment-producing countries across Asia, Europe and Latin America also opposed the ‘Omnibus’ this week, highlighting the risk the proposal will “exclude most supply chain workers” including 49 million home workers.

Source: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

The CSOs’ Appeal to hear the EACOP case on merit is a crucial development, with the ruling now awaited.

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By Witness Radio team.

The Appellate Division of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has heard an appeal filed by four civil society organizations (CSOs) challenging the dismissal of their case against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

The appeal, filed by four civil society organizations (CSOs), seeks to reconsider the case on its merits after the First Instance Division of the EACJ dismissed it in November 2023 on procedural grounds.

The case was before Justice Nestor Kayobera, Justice Kathurima M’Inoti, Justice Anita Mugeni, Justice Barishaki Bonny Cheborion, and Justice Omar Othman Makungu.

The East African CSOs, Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), Natural Justice (NJ), and Centre for Strategic Litigation (CSL), argued that the lawsuit was dismissed unfairly and that the First Instance Court had improperly evaluated the evidence before making its ruling.

According to CSOs, the EACOP project, if implemented, could lead to significant environmental damage, endangering local livelihoods, water supplies, and biodiversity. This includes potential oil spills, disruption of ecosystems, and contamination of water sources. They further assert that TotalEnergies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and the governments of Tanzania and Uganda failed to provide a sufficient risk assessment for the project and to adhere to international human rights norms.

The EACOP project is a significant pipeline initiative spanning over 1,400 kilometers, designed to transport crude oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert region to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. The project is a joint venture of TotalEnergies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in partnership with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania.

During the appeal hearing in Kigali, Rwanda, the CSOs’ lawyers, known for their expertise, presented robust arguments against the First Instance Court’s dismissal of the case.

Counsel David Kabanda, one of the CSOs’ lawyers, argued that the First Instance Court had overstepped its role by evaluating evidence when considering the preliminary objection raised by the Tanzanian government, which claimed the case was time-barred. He emphasized that determining a preliminary objection should not require examining evidence.

The CSOs’ legal team also emphasized that the case had been filed promptly under the EAC Treaty, a key legal instrument that allows individuals in East African countries to challenge unlawful acts within two months of their enactment or upon gaining knowledge of such acts.

They also urged that the court should have examined other, non-time-barred portions of the case if a portion of it was dismissed on time-barred grounds.

The CSOs also raised the First Instance Court’s ruling to award costs to the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments and the East African Community Secretary General (EAC). They contended that a decision like this may deter future public interest lawsuits, particularly those involving human rights and the environment, as it could set a precedent of penalizing those who advocate for public welfare.

Lawyer Rugemeleza Nshala cautioned that charging in public interest cases, particularly those involving the environment and human rights, could have a “chilling effect” on those seeking justice. “The case that was filed affects the people, and this is why we have all these people in court today,” he said.

After hearing arguments from both sides, including legal representatives for Uganda, Tanzania, and the EAC Secretary General, the appellate judges reserved their ruling, stating that it would be delivered “on notice.”

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