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Over 10,000 residents evicted in Abim, Kotido

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Stranded. Eviction residents prepare a meal at a temporary settlement in Abim District on Friday. PHOTO SIMON PETER EMWAMU  

More than 10,000 people have been evicted from three villages said to be part of Bokora wildlife conservation area between Abim and Kotido districts.
The eviction that started last Monday had by Friday left 78 homes in Morulokwang, Okwai and Oworopa villages destroyed.
While residents said the exercise was being conducted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the agency’s spokesperson, Mr Simplicious Gessa, said he was not aware of it.

Mr Gessa said UWA’s conservation zone extends to the area but said he was not certain where the eviction was taking place. He promised to crosscheck with the enforcement department. He had not given us feedback by press time.
Ms Grace Asio, one of those evicted from Okwai Village in Nyakwai Sub-county, Abim District, said those who carried out the exercise refused to identify themselves.
“We asked the officers for eviction letters but they never showed them to us. In the first place, the people who had told us to leave the area by December 16 were not UWA officials. We are now disturbed by the eviction,” she said.
She added that she is now being sheltered by a friend after her house and property were destroyed.

Daily Monitor understands that contested area is inhabited by residents from Ngora and Serere districts. The settlers claim to have bought the land after the co-existence accord was signed between Karamoja and Teso leaders in 2004. The pact was signed as a measure to root out animosity between the Iteso and Karimojong.
Mr Lomoi Okwang, who claims to have witnessed the signing of the accord in 2004, said UWA’s conservation boundaries do not extend to the area. Mr Okwang accused the area MP, Mr Michael Ayepa, of conniving with unknown people to evict the residents.
“Our area MP is trying to fight us out of this place because we never voted for him. He is seen time and again moving here with people of UWA. We don’t know his interests,” he said. However, Mr Ayepa dismissed the claims, insisting that the contested land belongs to Bokora wildlife conservation area. He claimed that some people have defrauded hundreds of residents of their money and cattle through allocating them land that belongs to UWA.

“These are people who have wrongly advised people not to leave, and are the ones setting people’s homes on fire in order to cause hatred against UWA,” Mr Ayepa said.
The legislator added that UWA recently held two meetings with the residents and advised them to vacate but that some selfish individuals, who are benefiting from the sale of UWA land, are holding people hostage. “They know that should people leave that place, they will be implicated for selling UWA land to people. These persons are known and they are criminals. The case is at Abim Central Police Station,” the MP told Daily Monitor.

Mr Ayepa said the people who have falsely sold UWA land to residents should refund the latter’s money and cows. “They are in hiding and inciting people to fight UWA officials; this is dangerous, how do you incite unarmed people against armed officers?”
Mr Ben Eumu, the Ngora District chairperson, while visiting the evicted locals on Friday, said will reach out to all stakeholders to get the truth about the eviction.

Source: Daily Monitor

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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