By Witness Radio team

Introducing a unique radio program that delves into the urgent and crucial role of the media in the face of climate change. Titled ‘Eyes on a Just Energy Transition’, this program is now part of the engaging lineup on Witness Radio.

This investigative radio broadcast is not just about informing, but also about empowering. It aims to foster public dialogues that shape perceptions and influence policy and collective action on climate change. It particularly focuses on the rights and freedoms of marginalized and poor communities, highlighting their crucial role in Africa’s just energy transition.

Mark your calendars! The ‘Eyes on a Just Energy Transition’ program will be broadcasting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 am to 11 am East African Standard Time (EAT).

Our first broadcast this Friday focuses on Uganda’s journey in the renewable energy transition plan, exploring the Legal, political, institutional, and regulatory frameworks that underpin the country’s renewable energy struggles.

Uganda lost nearly half of its forest cover in the recent past, especially between 1990 and 2023. It was mainly due to the widespread reliance on firewood and charcoal for daily cooking and heating needs, as well as the expansion of agriculture to meet the demands of a rapidly growing population. Also, Commercial logging and large development projects accelerated the loss of forested areas.

Uganda, like many other countries, is making a positive shift from dirty, fossil-based fuels to cleaner, sustainable energy sources. This transition is not just a change, but a beacon of hope for our planet’s future.

In the broadcast, experts in the renewable energy sector share their experiences and explain the journey of Uganda’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP); inform Ugandans to understand its importance and the aim; they will break down the ETP and Renewable Energy Policy 2023 for people to understand it; and explain how it affects everyday life.

Join us on this insightful journey. Download the Witness Radio app from the Google Play Store or tune in live on our website at www.witnessradio.org. Let’s engage in meaningful discussions and enjoy more informative content together.

By Witness Radio Team

Hundreds of residents in Bulima and Bukayo villages, Bulima Sub-county, Buvuma Island District, are on the verge of eviction from the land they have lived and cultivated for generations to pave the way for the expansion of oil palm growing.

Palm oil in Buvuma is a partnership between Oil Palm Buvuma Limited (OPBL), the Ugandan government through the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP), and smallholder farmers who are organized into the Buvuma Oil Palm Out Growers Cooperative Society. OPBL, a subsidiary of Bidco Uganda Limited, manages the project’s nucleus estate.

Palm oil projects worldwide have faced widespread criticism from host communities for being linked to land grabbing and the criminalization of residents who resist their expansion. They are also accused of causing severe environmental degradation due to monoculture planting, massive deforestation, and the destruction of local ecosystems.

In Uganda, where the oil palm project first began in Kalangala District, the scars left on affected communities have never healed. Despite unresolved grievances, unaddressed environmental damage, and injustices, the project has expanded into other districts, including Buvuma, bringing with it similar negative impacts that far outweigh the promised benefits.

According to Witness Radio investigations, more than 300 families in Bulima and Bukayo villages, occupying approximately 356 acres of land, are facing forced eviction. Tensions escalated on the 5th and 6th of September when officials from the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) arrived on community land with a tractor, allegedly to clear residents’ gardens for palm oil plantation expansion.

Eyewitnesses told Witness Radio that community members resisted the intrusion, stopping the tractors and demanding to know why their land was forcefully being taken without consent or compensation. The confrontation resulted in chaos as residents sought to protect their livelihoods.

Many of the affected residents, who have lived on the land for decades, are left questioning the injustice of their situation. Mr. Adam Kiyonga, one of the affected community members from Bulima Village, revealed that the company claimed to have compensated a one Aloziyo Nakibondwe, the alleged landlord for the same land in 2008. This action has left him and other residents puzzled as to why they are also being displaced without any form of compensation, a stark example of the injustice they are facing.

“The palm oil company had come to raze our gardens to create room for planting oil palm trees. We were told that the company claimed to have bought the land from our ‘landlord’, Aloziyo Nakibondwe. However, we also learned that the company allegedly asked him to compensate the affected tenants, something he never did.

We are surprised that the company now wants to take our land for free. We have heard of other communities whose land was taken without any compensation, and it seems the government wants to do the same to us. We are living in fear because we are likely to lose our only source of livelihood to the oil palm project,” said Adam Kiyonga in an interview with Witness Radio.

Mr. Kiyonga further revealed that the angry residents confronted and chased away the company officials, warning them not to proceed with the eviction without compensation.

“We chased them away because this is our land. “If they hadn’t left, people were ready to burn their tractor,” Kiyonga revealed

According to Kiyonga, people have been paying ground rent, which recognizes their interests in the land being grabbed. “We are bibanja owners, not squatters. We have been paying ground rent, which recognizes our occupancy rights. Why should we be evicted? You can’t just take people’s land because a government backs you up”. He angrily added.

In Uganda, a Kibanja is a form of land holding or tenancy that is subject to the customs and traditions of the Baganda, characterized by user rights and ownership of developments on land in perpetuity, subject to payment of an annual rent (busuulu) and correct social behavior, distinct and separate from ownership of the land on which the developments are made and in respect of which the user and occupancy rights exist.

The contested land is not only home to hundreds of families but also hosts Bukayo Health Center III, several churches, and a mosque. If the evictions go ahead, the community fears losing essential health and worship spaces, as well as their primary means of survival.

“If they take this land, we will have nowhere to go and nothing to live on. The government should either compensate us or leave our land,” Kiyonga added.

For Mr. Dan Wasswa, a 47-year-old father of 13 from Bulima, this is not the first time he has faced eviction linked to the oil palm project. He told Witness Radio that his land, measuring 11.5 acres, was first taken by the company in 2016 for palm oil cultivation.

“In 2014, they told us our landlord, Pascal Kibondwe, had sold the land to NOPP and that we tenants would be compensated on a willing buyer–willing seller basis. When they surveyed my land, they claimed I had 7 acres, but my own survey revealed 11.5 acres. But they compensated me for only 7 acres and at a very low rate.” Wasswa recalled.

He added that in 2021, the company destroyed his remaining 4.5 acres, which had not been compensated for, and planted palm oil trees, which are now at the harvesting stage.

“The other 4.5 acres were taken without any compensation, and the company has already planted on them. Even for the 7 acres they claim to have compensated me for, the money I received was very little. Now, they are targeting another piece of my land in Budima. We are wondering what we can do because this company is acting with total impunity, and no one seems willing to address this problem,” Wasswa added.

Across Buvuma Island District, communities face similar struggles with land loss and displacement due to oil palm expansion.

Wasswa reveals that many communities have lost their land in the process and have been pushed into an uncertain state. “People are being told to vacate their land for the oil palm project, which is described as a public good. They are always promised that compensation will be given to them later, but many have waited in vain and grown tired of demanding what is rightfully theirs. Some communities have now spent more than a decade waiting for compensation,” Wasswa said.

The oil palm project in Buvuma district, which began in sub-counties such as Busamuzi sub-county, to Nairambi Sub-county, has expanded into several areas, including Majjo and Bukula villages, where Witness Radio earlier documented cases of forced evictions, destruction of property, and the criminalization of community members resisting the land grabs.

Despite widespread complaints and protests, residents say the project’s expansion into Bulima and Bukayo continues unchecked.

“If they want our land, they should come, survey it, value it, and compensate us. But we cannot give it away for free. Many people before us were promised compensation that never came. We fear the same fate.” Mr. Kiyonga concluded.

Witness Radio attempted to contact the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) for comment, but calls to their known contacts went unanswered.

By Witness Radio team.

Lusaka, Zambia: The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights has expressed profound concerns over the distressingly slow pace at which African member states are adopting the National Action Plans (NAP) on Business and Human Rights. The situation demands urgent and immediate action.

NAPs are tools expected to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The guiding principles are the global standards for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights involving business activity.

Under NAPs, each member state must establish strategies and expectations that require businesses to respect human rights, conduct human rights due diligence, and provide effective remedies for abuses, thereby enhancing human rights protection in economic activities.

Speaking at the closing of the 4th African Forum on Business and Human Rights, the African Representative on the United Nations Working Group (UNWG) on Business and Human Rights, Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, decried the small number of African member states that have adopted the NAPs.

According to the UNWG, only five (5) out of the fifty-five (55) states in Africa have adopted the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, namely, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Liberia, and Ghana.

Damilola said it was such a minimal number and called on states in Africa to step up their commitments to the UNGPs by adopting National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights, and asked those that have adopted the NAPs to ensure that there’s a practical implementation.

He emphasized that UNGPs provide an authoritative common reference point on how to achieve the Africa we want. The key concepts discussed during our three-day activity, including human rights due diligence, meaningful stakeholder engagement, and remediating arms, should serve as powerful practical tools for dismantling workplace inequalities and achieving sustainable development.

Damilola expressed, “Africa is on the rise, with the promise of new investments in mining, infrastructure, agribusiness, and green technologies. We envision a prosperous Africa built on responsible business practices, and the adoption of NAPs can pave the way for this bright future.”

He warned that profit maximization is impossible in an atmosphere of public distrust, community protests, and reputation damage. With increased legislation and NAPs across the World, including the EU directive on corporate due diligence, it is clear that African businesses have failed to respond to the risk of being left behind in a rapidly changing global economy. The consequences of not adopting NAPs are severe, including potential loss of business, damage to reputation, and legal liabilities.

He urged businesses to take the lead in integrating the UNGPs across their value chains, in their corporate policies, procurement standards, and operational grievance mechanisms. Businesses have the power to drive change and make a significant difference.

“As UNWG, we offer to disseminate success stories and innovations from African businesses that are taking the lead in placing people and planet above profit,” said Damilola.