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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

…….Special Report; abridged testimony……. ABDUCTION AND TORTURE: New methods used by multinationals and security agencies to grab land from the poor communities…

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Baluma (wearing a coat) and some of his family members.

….Special Report; abridged testimony…….

ABDUCTION AND TORTURE: New methods used by multinationals and security agencies to grab land from the poor communities

By witnessradio.org Team

Sipiriano Baluma, 60 is among the 35000 residents who have lawfully occupied and cultivated their land since the 1930s. But, the right to own land was brought to an end in early 2019, when residents woke up to the news of a local land broker Mwesigwa Reuben claiming that he owns their land. Just in a week news spread like wildfire that the land ownership had changed to Great Season SMC Limited, a company solely owned by a Sudan investor currently based in UAE, Dubai.

Immediately, residents witnessed the deployment of casual laborers from Darfur, Sudan, armed with bows and arrows to carry out forced evictions under the protection of Kiryandongo district police.

Without any meaningful consultation or compensation, the company, its agents, and security agencies in Kiryandongo district resorted to using violence targeting family heads and leaders of the project affected persons that were standing up for their rights. Acts of violence ranged from kidnaps, torture, beating, cutting down people’s crops to demolishing of houses, among others.

Baluma, a father of twelve (12) children, a resident of Kisalanda- Jerusalem, Kitwala Sub County in Kiryandongo district got kidnapped, and while in captivity, the company grabbed his 20 acres, which had houses, plantations of maize, banana, sweet potatoes, and cassava.

Baluma said, his land was life to him as he would earn Uganda Shillings close to one and half a million (1.5M) equivalent to about USD 500 every season before Great Seasons SMC Limited grabbed it.

He added that such an income would meet basic needs for his family including paying school fees.

Baluma shares his ordeal on how he lost his land: “I was at my home at 8:00 am local time on 18th, March 2021, when armed anti-riot police and company workers armed with bows and arrows traveling on two police patrols raided my home. I was kidnapped and taken to Kiryandongo district central police. This incident was witnessed by my family members (my wife and children)” Said Baluma.

He said while in captivity, one of the workers of the company questioned him about why he was cultivating on the land owned by the company and accused him of refusing to surrender his land.

According to his wife, Njeze Donati, in an hour’s time after Baluma’s abduction, the company’s workers returned with a tractor, plowed their land up-to the doorstep, and planted maize.  As a result, their house now stands in the middle of the company’s plantation, inaccessible and isolated from the rest of the world.

“The armed workers under the protection of Kiryandongo police put us on the gunpoint ordered us to enter and to lock ourselves in the house, which moment was used to grab our family land,” Said Donati.

She added that they were able to identify a police officer who oversaw the land grab exercise as Abura Felix attached to the Kiryandongo police

Baluma spent six (6) days in police cells without a charge and after the intervention of Witness Radio – Uganda lawyers, he was granted police bond.

On the police bond paper, Kiryandongo district police preferred a charge of criminal trespass on his own land.

DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

A bail application for the 15 EACOP activists failed to take off, and they were remanded back to Prison.

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By Witness Radio team.

A bail application for the 15 EACOP activists from Kyambogo and Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Universities currently on remand on charges of common nuisance has failed to take off today.

Simon Peter Wafula, Gary Wettaka, Martin Sserwambala, Erick Ssekandi, Arafat Mawanda, Akram Katende, Dedo Sean Kevin, Noah Katiti, Oscar Nuwagaba, Oundo Hamphrance, Bernard Mutenyo, Nicholas Pele, Shadiah Nabukenya, Shafiq Kalyango, and Makose Mark, who were arrested in early this month (November) for their determined protest against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Kampala, Uganda’s capital.

They were marching to Uganda’s Parliament to meet the Speaker of Parliament and raise concerns about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, including the continued gross human rights violations/abuses, the significant threat it poses to the environment, and the criminalization of the mega project’s critics.

The EACOP project will transport crude oil from Uganda’s Albertine region to Tanzania’s Tanga seaport. The project has been criticized for delayed compensation for affected persons and secretive agreements.

However, the two accused, Wafula Simon and Kalyango Shafik, did not attend court. The prosecution informed the court that the duo was sick, suffering from red eyes, and currently being kept in an isolation room in the prison hospital. The absence of the two caused a setback to the defense lawyers’ bail application attempt.

On November 11, the accused were charged with common nuisance. Section 160 (1) of the Penal Code Act states that if convicted, anyone charged with common nuisance is liable to one-year imprisonment.

The prosecution alleges that on November 11, 2024, the accused gathered at Parliamentary Avenue, causing disruption and inconvenience by holding an unauthorized demonstration on the road while displaying placards and banners opposing the oil pipeline.

Grade One magistrate Sanula Nambozo adjourned the case until December 9, 2024, when the defense team is expected to present a bail application for the 15 activists.

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Breaking: 15 Anti-EACOP Activists have been charged with common nuisance and remanded to Luzira prison.

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By Witness Radio team.

A group of 15 anti-EACOP protesters from Kyambogo and Makerere University Business School (Mubs) Universities was arrested on Monday, 11th, for protesting against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project. They have been arraigned before Buganda Road Chief Magistrates Court and charged with common nuisance.

Fourteen of them were students from Kyambogo University including Simon Peter Wafula, Gary Wettaka, Martin Sserwambala, Erick Ssekandi, Arafat Mawanda, Akram Katende, Dedo Sean Kevin, Noah Katiti, Oscar Nuwagaba, Oundo Hamphrance, Bernard Mutenyo, Nicholas Pele, Shadiah Nabukenya, Shafiq Kalyango, and Makose Mark from Makerere University Business School (MUBS). Grade one magistrate Sanula Nambozo remanded them.

Section 160 (1) of the Penal Code Act states that any person charged with common nuisance, once convicted, is liable to imprisonment for one year.

Police arrested them while marching toward Uganda’s Parliament to meet the Speaker of Parliament and raise concerns about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, including the gross human rights abuses and the significant threat it poses to the environment.

This case is part of ongoing protests against the $3.5 billion EACOP project, which will transport crude oil from Uganda’s Albertine region to Tanzania’s Tanga seaport. The project has faced criticism over delayed compensations for affected persons and secretive agreements. Despite a European Union resolution against the pipeline, President Yoweri Museveni has insisted it will proceed as planned.

The prosecution alleges that on November 11, 2024, the accused gathered at Parliamentary Avenue, causing disruption and inconvenience by holding an unauthorized demonstration on the road while displaying placards and banners opposing the oil pipeline.

The 15 activists have been remanded to Luzira Prison until November 26, when their lawyers could apply for bail.

 

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Breaking: 15 Anti-EACOP Activists Arrested in Kampala While Marching to Parliament

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By Witness Radio team

Kampala, Uganda – A group of 15 anti-EACOP protesters from Kyambogo University have been arrested in Kampala, Uganda’s capital by police while marching toward the Ugandan Parliament, Witness Radio has learned.

The activists, dressed in orange T-shirts bearing the slogan “No to Oil” and chanting “Stop EACOP,” were arrested by Police at Parliamentary Avenue at approximately 10 a.m. EAT this morning. They wanted to meet the Speaker of Parliament to raise concerns about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.

The protesters claim that the EACOP project has led to severe human rights abuses and poses a significant threat to the environment.

Their arrest comes just hours after the start of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), hosted by the Government of Azerbaijan, officially begins today, Monday, 11 November, and runs through Friday, 22 November 2024. It aims to build on previous achievements and set a foundation for future climate ambitions to address the global climate crisis.

Uganda, represented at COP29, hopes to use this opportunity to obtain funds for projects related to resilience and adaptation. However, campaigners contend that rather than speaking for Ugandans negatively impacted by climate change, the delegates will emphasize securing financing for environmentally damaging initiatives like EACOP.

Activists are being detained at the Central Police Station in Kampala.

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