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Owori, Tororo locals square off over land.

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Fashion designer and businesswoman Sylvia Owori  at an Operation Wealth Creation  function in 2021. 

The Director of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and about 200 families are embroiled in dispute over the ownership of about 100 acres of land in Nyangore Sub-county, Tororo District.

Ms Sylvia Owori’s accusers told Sunday Monitor that the OWC top official who also doubles as boss of the Zipa Modelling Agency used her newfound power to grab their land, a charge she vehemently denies.

The land in dispute is located about five miles from Tororo Town, on the Tororo Mbale Road. It is also in close proximity to Mukuju Teacher Training College and both Simba and Hima Cement plants.

Ms Owori says “encroachers” have attempted to take over large swaths of land that “has my father’s grave, my grandmother’s grave and my grandfather’s grave.”

She added: “It is not true [that I am grabbing their land]. This is my ancestral land…these people are trying to claim that land,” Ms Owori told Sunday Monitor.

A September 30, 2020 brief signed by three of her accusers—Emmanuel Otedo, Oburu Silver and Obonyo Robert Ochwo—alleges that Ms Owori forcefully accessed their land on July 31, 2020.

They add that she did this while in the company of armed escorts, who she used to intimidate and harass them.

Ms Owori admits to moving around with armed escorts, but denies using them to intimidate her accusers.

“I am a Director of OWC and I am entitled to a driver and a bodyguard. I have only two security officers. Two security officers cannot go and threaten an entire village. And even if so, there should have been a report at the police that these officers did this or that,” Ms Owori argues.

It is further alleged that Ms Owori had on the same day attempted to forcefully have the land surveyed. This triggered commotion in the village, forcing the surveyor to back down.

The matter, according to the brief, was reported to the Mile 5 police station where the people whose land had been the subject of the alleged trespass recorded statements.

The development compelled the Rubongi Sub-county  chairperson to convene a September 2, 2020 meeting where Ms Owori laid claim to the land in dispute.

“During the meeting Sylvia Owori said that she had come to reclaim her father’s land and was therefore in the company of armed personnel for self-protection. The statement surprised us the bonafide owners of the land because to the best of our knowledge, the land she is claiming is not hers nor her late fathers” the brief reads in part.

Owori insists that the land in question is ancestral land that was acquired by her late grandfather.

“This land was acquired by my grandfather in 1915 during the colonial days. He was a chief. When he died in 1942, he left the land with my father George William Owori,” she told Sunday Monitor.

However, whereas her accusers concede that her grandfather was a chief in the area and was buried there, he was not the only chief that was buried there. They add that amongst all  descendants of late chiefs buried there, it is only Ms Owori who is laying claim to the land.

The Owori’s contestations over the land are said to date back to about 1970 when Mr George William Owori—Sylvia’s late father—filed a suit. It was reportedly dismissed on January 2, 1978.

“We were therefore surprised when this lady (Sylvia Owori) raised a matter which had been successfully handled by the courts of law more than 40 years ago,” they wrote.

Ms Owori, however, disputes that version of events, insisting that the court had ruled in her late father’s favour.

“He got a court ruling in his favour and they were given three months to leave or face eviction. These people continued to grab the land. In March 1980, when he was trying to put up a fight, he was shot [and killed] because of the same land,” she said.

Ms Owori is perplexed by her accusers’ decision to petition Parliament over the land when the matter is still the subject of court proceedings in Tororo.

“If they are sure that this is their land, why don’t they wait for the court process to run its course? Why don’t they wait for the outcome of court? If they are truly the rightful owners then the court will determine in their favour,” she said.

The matter was the subject of a May 6 petition sent to the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Anita Among, through the area MP—Dr Emmanuel Otaala.

It was tabled before Parliament by the Tororo District Woman MP, Ms Sarah Opendi. Ms Among directed the Minister for Lands and Urban Development to investigate the matter.

Ms Opendi told Parliament last week that Ms Owori had blocked people from accessing a school and a church located on the disputed land.

“The petitioners have sought assistance from this land grabber, but to no avail. Her security personnel have beaten up people and now they have come seeking Parliament’s intervention to rescue them from land grabbers,” she told Parliament.

Ms Owori, however, dismissed Ms Opendi’s statement in the House and instead accused the lawmaker of politicking.

“Someone wants to tarnish my name because of politics. She thinks that since I am on the ground meetings with youth and women leaders, I want to contest for woman MP,” Ms Owori said, adding, “I am showing them things to do with Operation Wealth Creation.”

Original Source: Daily Monitor

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Witness Radio petitions chief prosecutor: Want 34 community land rights defenders and activists released from prison.

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By Witness Radio team.

In the Hoima District, Western Uganda, an urgent and immediate action is crucial to halt an ongoing land grab. The work of community land rights defenders, activists, and local leaders has unfortunately been criminalized, with thirty-four (34) people from Rwobunyonyi, Kirindasojo, and Kihohoro villages falsely accused and sent to different prisons in the Hoima district.

Criminal files No. CRB 330-2022 has Busobozi Patrick, Kaija Phillip Osborn, Mbabazi Isaya, Wembabazi Denis, Tumusiime David, and Abitegeka David charged with aggravated robbery, while the CRB 84-2023 file has Magezi Lawrence, Kaahwa Nelson Komugisa Junior, Mugenyi Vincent, and others on murder charges. The files have been established to gang the work of community defenders and activists.

According to sections 189 and 286 (2) of the Penal Code Act cap 120, both offenses carry the death penalty upon conviction.

As observed above, community land rights defenders, activists, and local leaders have been targeted since 2022. The number of targeted defenders keeps on growing. Sadly, those who have been remanded to prison are still waiting for their cases to be tried, which is tantamount to judicial harassment and persecution.

Witness Radio findings indicate that one Fred Kato Mugumba allegedly orchestrated the land grab. He is backed by officials from Hoima police, Hoima district Office of Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), and judicial staff. Mugambe and his accomplices aim to evict over 500 small-scale farming families from their ancestral land.

If the land grab is successful, the community will suffer a devastating loss of 800 hectares of land used for food cultivation. This loss will lead to children dropping out of school, families breaking apart due to lack of resources, and a significant increase in food insecurity, hunger, poverty, and illiteracy levels in Uganda.

The affected communities have a deep-rooted connection to the land, having lived on it for over 50 years without disruption. The ongoing persecution by Mugamba and his agents is, therefore, particularly shocking and unjust.

The same land almost ended the life of Junior Lands Minister Sam Mayanja, who was targeted with gunshots when he visited the contested land on August 24, 2023, to protect land grab victims. The current situation highlights the urgent need for intervention from a powerful office.

Witness Radio has, among other interventions, petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and urged the Chief Prosecutor’s office to call the file from Hoima High Court.

The office of the DPP is a constitutional body mandated to direct police to investigate any information of a criminal nature, institute criminal proceedings against any person or authority in any court other than a court-martial, take over and continue any criminal proceedings instituted by any person or authority, and discontinue at any stage before judgment any criminal proceedings.

Uganda is experiencing an influx of land-based investments, which have fueled land-grabbing tendencies and criminalization of community land rights and environmental defenders and activists’ work.

In the petition, Witness Radio alleges that Fred Kato Mugamba fabricated these charges in collusion with John Angwadya, a former local council member and chairperson of one of the targeted villages, Rwabunyonyi, as part of a strategy to facilitate the unlawful eviction of the community from their land.

“It is deeply concerning that the accused remain in protracted detention despite the constitutional guarantee of a fair and speedy trial and right to liberty. This is a clear violation of defenders’ fundamental rights and raises serious concerns about the criminal justice system’s integrity in this matter. The prolonged delay in their trial and the apparent ulterior motive behind the charges necessitate immediate intervention to prevent the miscarriage of justice,” the petition reads in part.

Despite multiple attempts by the community to engage various stakeholders, including Hoima’s district leadership, the Hoima District Police, the State House Land Protection Unit, and the State Minister for Lands, Dr. Sam Mayanja, their efforts have been futile. Instead of finding justice, those who resist are met with criminal charges and continued evictions, leaving many families landless and helpless.

“The efforts of our clients and community individuals engaging the different offices are viewed as a threat to the evictors, hence fabricating different charges against the accused persons to pave the way for the land grabbers to occupy the land in the absence of the accused persons. It is evident that the pending charges of murder and aggravated robbery are being made as a tool to harass and deprive our clients and family members,” the petition further reads.

In the petition to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Witness Radio has called for an urgent review of the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecutions of the accused. Witness Radio is requesting the issuance of a Nolle Prosequi to quash the charges and the immediate release of the prisoners.

The organization also demands that the case be expedited to prevent further unwarranted deprivation of liberty and calls for an independent investigation into any potential abuses within the criminal justice system.

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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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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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