Joint Statement Response by Advisers of PAPs to the DRS Follow-Up Report on the Uganda KIIDP-2 Case

KAMPALA, 25th NOVEMBER 2025

Introduction

On 30th October 2025, the World Bank’s Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) published its final Follow-up Report on the Uganda KIIDP-2 case, a community-led complaint regarding forced evictions and project-related harms under the Kampala Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project. The case began in 2021 and closed in 2023.

We welcome the publication of the Follow-up Report as it provides important reflections on dispute resolution practice. We appreciate that feedback from stakeholders, including some of our own, was incorporated into the Report. However, the Report presents an overly positive narrative that fails to reflect critical issues experienced by community members negatively impacted by the KIIDP-2 project. These omissions not only distort the record but undermine the legitimacy and objective of the accountability process and learning.

Gaps in Report

Project harms continue: It is paramount to begin here. The affected community filed a complaint to the Inspection Panel of the World Bank in 2020 to complain about harm they were experiencing with the ongoing KIIDP II project. The project designers and implementers failed to engage meaningfully with people who would be impacted by the project, and as a result, there was inadequate compensation for negative impacts, health risks and other hazards were associated with mismanagement of the drainage channel, and people lost their livelihoods. Over five years later–and even after a mediation process–the issues persist. The project remains incomplete even after the project closeout date. Clogged passages with dirt, persistent flooding of peoples homes and farms with dirty water, lack of access to homes, and incomplete infrastructure remain unresolved. The posture of the Follow-up Report assumes implementation is complete and everything is well, but the reality couldn’t be further from that.

No livelihood restoration: Livelihood support was a core demand from community members and a central topic throughout the mediation. Although interim agreements were reached on this issue, they were not included in the final agreement, and no livelihood programs have since been implemented. The community’s health, safety, and economic conditions continue to deteriorate as a result.

Women’s issues ignored: Gender-specific harms raised in the complaint and during the case process were never addressed and are completely absent from the final report.

Retaliation, intimidation, and threats of eviction: The report fails to acknowledge threats, harassment, and attempted evictions faced by community members during the process.

The process felt coerced and rushed: The Follow-up Report fails to capture DRS’ own challenges in managing the timelines to ensure a successful outcome. Although the mediation process spanned 18 months, community members report that they felt pressured to sign the agreement on the final day. In part this is because there was confusion about whether the dispute resolution process had officially concluded, and representatives and advisors were not informed in advance that the signing would take place that day. The Follow-Up Report also fails to capture the serious concerns associated with the signing of the agreement that led the community to feel coerced to sign the agreement. For example, the presence of government security officials at the signing created an intimidating atmosphere, further contributing to the sense of coercion.

Undermined decision-making: In the final stages, the DRS changed the previously agreed community representation and decision-making structure, sidelining duly elected representatives and diminishing the voice of minority or dissenting perspectives. The DRS made a unilateral decision–on the day of signing of the agreement–that the representatives previously elected by impacted community members were no longer going to make decisions on behalf of the community, and that instead, every member of the community was required individually to sign the agreement if they wanted to benefit from its provisions. Furthermore, the DRS had earlier communicated that if the agreement was signed, no unresolved issues could be referred to the compliance process, effectively discouraging individuals from dissenting or withholding their signature.

Confidentiality limitations: Unreasonably strict confidentiality restrictions during the mediation process limited community representatives’ ability to consult with other community members, the media, and allies. This lack of openness undermined transparency, community-wide participation, and meaningful ownership of the process. Towards the end of the process and during the implementation phase, the DRS interpreted these confidentiality provisions in a way that denied advisors access to key documents, including the mediation agreement and drafts of the Follow-Up Report. This made it extremely difficult for the advisors to support the community with timely and informed guidance. The removal of the Implementation Committee on the day of signing the agreement, without mutual agreement or any formal communication, further isolated the advisors. As a result, they were unable to monitor implementation or receive feedback through project-affected people (PAPs), with DRS insisting that the agreement remained confidential. The continued denial of access under the guise of confidentiality infringed on the community’s right to adequate representation.

Exclusion from Inspection Panel referral: The report omits that requesters were excluded from bringing unresolved issues to the Inspection Panel for investigation. This shift contradicted earlier expectations and closed off a key accountability route. Read more here.

To support transparency and learning, we commissioned an independent consultant to gather community feedback on the process, outcomes, and roles of various actors. Once complete, this analysis will be shared with the DRS and the World Bank to inform future DRS processes and strengthen accountability for other communities.

Conclusion

We believe in the potential of dispute resolution to provide meaningful remedy, but to realize that potential, there must be bold, transparent, and inclusive implementation. The DRS must account for all aspects of the mediation process and its outcomes. Livelihoods, gender-specific harms, and reprisals are not peripheral issues; they are central to justice, and they are left unresolved.

We thank the DRS for its work and call for further dialogue to ensure the spirit of the agreement is honored, and the dignity of the Kawaala community upheld.

Witness Radio
Accountability Counsel

Statement: 19.11.25 Statement Re DRS Report

For immediate release

Statement on International Human Rights Day 2024:

Witness Radio calls out the government of Uganda to protect Land and Environmental Rights Defenders and Communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda.

Wakiso: Uganda, December 10th, 2024; Anchored to the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Witness Radio stands together with Land and Environmental Rights Defenders, communities affected by irresponsible land-based investments in Uganda, and Human Rights Defenders across the globe in urging Government of Uganda to uphold and fulfill their obligations to protect and respect human rights in the context of land-based business operations and to ensure access to an effective remedy for individuals and groups affected by such activities, specifically land and environmental rights defenders.

As the world commemorates International Human Rights Day on December 10th, 2024, under the theme;

Our rights, our future, right now, Witness Radio has, in a period of the first 6 months of the year 2024, documented over 360,000 people who faced forceful evictions from the lands that had fed them for generations. This has led to various unbearable environmental and social issues, including violations of community rights during forceful evictions and threats to water sources, the environment, and food security. For instance, the use of agrochemicals in the newly acquired lands has led to pollution, affecting the health of the local communities.

Communities whose rights and interests on land have been forcefully transferred to land-based investors in agribusiness, carbon-offset tree plantations, oil and gas extraction, mining, and infrastructural development projects highlight concerns over food shortages, livelihoods; inadequate compensation; restricted land access; and impacts on children’s education, safety, and welfare, including gender-based violence (GBV) and reproductive health issues.

A recent report by Witness Radio Uganda, released in November 2024, paints a dire picture. Between January and June 2024, more than 360,000 people faced violent evictions, with over 121,000 hectares of land under threat. Nearly four cases of land evictions were reported weekly, affecting approximately 15,126 people and threatening 5,060.12 hectares of land across the country. An estimated 2,160 Ugandans faced evictions daily to give way to investments, with 723 hectares of land at risk of being grabbed daily. This is a crisis that demands immediate attention.

The land grabs are happening on abandoned national ranches and forests, which have long since been settled and farmed by people who came to the area fleeing war and natural calamities in neighboring areas. Although compulsory land acquisition falls within government powers in Uganda, corporations interested in specific land and their agents have been left responsible for managing much of the process and setting compensation values. This has led to serious problems with how the land acquisition process is being conducted, resulting in severe impacts on affected communities, which have infringed on the rights to property, involuntary resettlement, housing, earning a livelihood, food, private and family life, and trading and disposing of natural wealth and resources.

Land and Environmental Rights Defenders are the unsung heroes in this battle for justice. They are often the only force between ordinary people and unbridled power. However, their efforts are frequently met with judicial harassment in the form of criminalization for offensive gatherings, criminal trespass, and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) to discourage peaceful demonstrations against unlawful evictions, arbitrary detention, and defamation. Their importance cannot be overstated, and the injustices they face are a stark reminder of the need for change.

On this International Human Rights Day, it is crucial that duty-bearers recognize the gravity of the crisis in Uganda. The Government of Uganda should commit to and urgently implement universal respect, protection, and fulfillment of human rights for everyone and everywhere in the country. This is not just a call for action but a demand for justice and equality. We urge the government to act now, before more lives and livelihoods are lost.

Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now

Signed by;

Jeff Wokulira Ssebaggala.

For Witness Radio – Uganda

For Immediate Release:

Breaking: There has been an alarming Rise in Forced Land Evictions in Uganda; over 360,000 Ugandans were Displaced in the First Half of 2024.

Kampala, Uganda -October 5th, 2024; Witness Radio releases its mid-year report on forced land eviction, revealing a sharp increase across Uganda between January and June 2024. The report reveals staggering statistics: 90 documented land evictions have affected at least 363,021 Ugandans, with over 121,000 hectares of land under threat of being seized.

These occurrences are happening following a presidential directive on land evictions, with the majority of cases of evictions being characterized by violence, human rights violations/abuses, and total disrespect of communities’ land and environmental rights. Government security forces and private security firms and militias have been documented acting on behalf of wealthy investors and government agents and have been implicated in the use of excessive force, resulting in a series of human rights abuses, including death.

“Witness Radio is concerned about the unabated forced land evictions and foresees a large population losing its livelihood to land-based investments as the country enters a period of general elections,” Says Jeff Wokulira Ssebaggala, Country Director, Witness Radio—Uganda.

He attributed forced evictions to the government’s industrialization of Uganda’s land. This industrialization must be carefully implemented to protect smallholder farmers’ land and promote food security and sovereignty.   

Key Findings:

• Attacks on Land and Environmental Defenders: In the period under review (between Jan and June 2024), 65 attacks on land and environmental defenders (LEDs) and climate activists challenging illegal land evictions and corporate harm on the environment in Uganda.
• Affected Population: Over 360,000 Ugandans were displaced, with a daily average of 2,160 people losing their livelihood. Land is targeted for oil and gas extraction, mining, agribusiness, and tree plantations for carbon offsets. While some investments have taken shape on the grabbed land, other pieces of grabbed land are still empty but under the guardship of military and private security firms.
• Land Under Threat: More than 121,000 hectares of land are at risk of being grabbed by influential investors and government agents.
• Complete Evictions: 22,962 individuals have been entirely evicted from their land, and land grabbers have fully grabbed 7,150.7 hectares of land.
• Pending Evictions: 340,059 Ugandans face imminent eviction threats, with over 114,292 hectares of land at risk of being seized.
• Regional Impact: The Central region remains the epicenter of evictions, recording 52 cases. This is followed by 24 cases in the Western region, 8 in the Northern region, and 6 in the Eastern region.
• Number of Cases documented: 90 land eviction incidents reported, affecting all regions of Uganda.

Eviction frequency.

Nearly four cases of land evictions are reported weekly, affecting approximately 15,126 people and threatening 5,060.12 hectares of land across the country.

An estimated 2,160 Ugandans face evictions daily to give way to land-based investments, with 723 hectares of land at risk of being grabbed daily.

Despite government interventions and promises to halt evictions, including directives from President Museveni, the report reveals that land grabbers frequently ignore these orders, deploying armed security forces, private militias, and police to carry out brutal evictions. Left without compensation or legal recourse, vulnerable communities are often displaced in favor of multinational corporations and influential local investors.

Case Highlights: The report details harrowing incidents like the murder of smallholder farmer Dan Ssebyala in Nakasongola, a district plagued by violent evictions involving absentee landlords and influential investors. Armed men ambushed Ssebyala following a confrontation over disputed land. This is just one of many incidents where land defenders are attacked, silenced, or even killed for opposing forced evictions.

In Kiryandongo District, security groups working for Major Taban Amin were documented torturing elected local leaders such as Councilor Fred Kangume after he opposed Amin’s illegal eviction of over 700 families. Such violent tactics have been reported as a commonly used approach to intimidate defenders and community leaders and silence opposition.

Impact on Communities:

• Food Insecurity: Evictions often destroy crops and livestock, exacerbating food shortages and malnutrition
• Loss of Livelihoods: Displaced families lose their homes and agricultural land, forcing many into poverty.
•   Violence and Trauma: Communities face violence, arrests, and intimidation for defending their land, leading to physical and psychological trauma.
•  Disruption of Education: Forced displacement disrupts children’s access to education as schools are often destroyed in the eviction process.

Call for Action: Witness Radio Uganda calls on the government to strengthen the enforcement of land laws, protect local communities from illegal evictions, and ensure justice for victims. Additionally, investors must adhere to international human rights standards and respect the communities they operate in. Financial institutions funding these projects must conduct thorough due diligence to prevent further human rights abuses.

For more information and to access the full report, please contact:

Mr. Tonny Katende

Research and Media Officer, Witness Radio – Uganda

Phone: +256 703085430

Email: news@witnessradio.org

Website: www.witnessradio.org

You can download a full report here: Forced Land Evictions In Uganda.