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The district security committee continues to defy gov’t’s directive to return locals to their land 48 days later.

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2 years ago

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Some of the houses that were destroyed during the Kapapi evictions.

By  Witness Radio team,

10th February 2023 will remain poignant in the lives of hundreds of Kapapi residents whose livelihoods were lost in a forced eviction executed by government security forces in Hoima and private security guards attached to Magnum Security Company. The forced evictions are to benefit land grabbers and speculators from the East African Oil Pipeline project.

The evictions left over 500 families forcefully evicted from the land they had lived on for decades. The communities accuse a group of people namely; Ndahura Gafayo, Aston Muhwezi, David Mpora, Monica Rwashadika, one Agaba, Wilber Kiiza, and Moses Asimwe of masterminding the land grabbing in Waaki North, Kapapi Central, Waaki South, Runga, and Kiryatete villages in Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties, Hoima district.

On 22nd of February, 2023, the government of Uganda, through the Minister of Lands Housing and Urban Development, Honorable. Judith Nabakooba directed all the affected persons to be returned to their land. However, the illegal eviction victims are instead forced into hiding due to constant threats of arrest and intimidation. Their homesteads and land remain inaccessible as they are tightly guarded by security guards.

In a meeting attended by victims, village leaders, police, and Resident District Commissioner (RDC), among other leaders in Rukola village, Hon. Nabakooba stated that the eviction was unlawful and directed the district security committee which is headed by the RDC to oversee the resettlement of the communities back on their land until investigations onto the ownership of the land are concluded. To date, the directive remains unimplemented.

On February 28, 2022, President Yoweri Museveni banned all land evictions in the country that are carried out without the consent of the respective District Security Committees (DSC).  “No eviction should be allowed to take place in a district without the consent and direct observation of the District Security Committee (DSC), chaired by the Resident District Commissioners/Resident City Commissioners (RDCs/RCCs) and direct consultation with the Minister of Lands” the President’s letter addressed to the Prime Minister and Chief Justice reads in part.

Witness Radio’s research reveals different forms of violence have been meted out against the downtrodden, such as beatings, arrests, stealing, and continued looting of affected communities’ animals, all targeting to weaken them to surrender their land. Witness Radio is also investigating the allegations of gang rape and sexual assaults against some women in Kapapi.

Despite the ministerial order, the poor families remain abandoned wandering in different parts of the country for survival. PAPs revealed that after the minister’s directive, police and armed forces intensified their violent land-grabbing activities and continued denying them access to their homesteads and land.

The District Security Committee tasked by the Minister on 22nd of February 2023 to resettle the communities back on their land disregarded her order.

In an interview with the assistant Resident District Commissioner, Mr. Michael Kyakashari to understand how far the committee had gone with implementing the minister’s directive. He told our researcher that he did not have an answer to the question.

According to the leaders of the affected community, the evictors are now targeting men with beatings, arrests, and unscrupulously charging them which forced many of them into hiding, leaving women to take responsibility for their families.

“Every man who would interfere with their land grabbing move would be hunted, beaten, and arrested, and then put charges on you because they are powerful and directly deal with police which forced many us to hide for fear of our lives or being put behind bars.” Kamusabe (not the real name) told Witness Radio.

Kobusingye (not the real name due to fear of retaliation), a mother of 13 had settled on her 60 acres of land for the past 27 years. On a fateful day, she claims her three houses were razed, property worth millions destroyed and some of her goats are believed to have been looted and slaughtered by the evictors. She is one of those struggling to make ends meet for her family after her husband was forced into hiding.

“I don’t know where my husband is and we rarely talk because he tells me he is being spied on. I have spent a week here at church struggling to feed myself. I also left my children at the home of my relative but they keep on calling me to pick them up because they are many, 13 of them, and hence have become a burden. I don’t know how they are, and what to do next for them because ideally, I have no other alternative.” Kobusingye told the Witness Radio team.

Related posts:

The Kapapi residents in a meeting with the Minister of Lands Hon. Judith Nabakooba.
Over 500 Kapapi families in Hoima district remain stranded after the district security committee fails to resettle them back on their land as directed by the minister. Minister orders for reinstatement of a local community back onto its land. Apaa conflict: Locals demand to return home Breaking; Lands Minister directs police chief to arrest armed mobs involved in forced and illegal land evictions. Government orders arrest of notorious land grabber in Mubende district.

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New report: EACOP threatens tourism and biodiversity in Greater Masaka.

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2 days ago

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April 16, 2025

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By Witness Radio team.

A new report urgently warns about the imminent threats posed by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to the tourism sites of the Greater Masaka subregion, demanding immediate attention and action.

In a recently released research brief by the Inclusive Green Economy Network-East Africa (IGEN-EA), “Tourism Potential of Greater Masaka vis-à-vis EACOP Project Risks,” IGEN-EA reveals the area’s diverse tourism prospects. These prospects bring massive wealth to the country as a result of its rich biodiversity and tourist attractions, but they are at risk of destruction by the EACOP project.

The EACOP project involves the construction of a 1,444km heated pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to Tanga in Tanzania, which will transport crude oil from Tilenga and Kingfisher fields. The project has been widely criticized for its environmental and social concerns. The pipeline has displaced at least 13,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania.

Experts say the Masaka subregion has sustainable tourism potential. However, the EACOP could negatively impact it by further fueling the climate crisis, causing biodiversity loss, and driving a population influx, among other things.

The Inclusive Green Economy Network-East Africa (IGEN-EA) is a network that unites over thirty-six (36) private sector players and civil society organizations (CSOs) from Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. The organizations undertake research, raise stakeholder awareness, and advocate to promote green economic alternatives, including clean energy, sustainable tourism, organic agriculture and fisheries, forestry, and natural resources management.

Located in southern Uganda and bordering Tanzania, Greater Masaka comprises nine districts: Kalungu, Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule, Lwengo, Kalangala, Lyantonde, Bukomansimbi, and Kyotera. Four of these, Kyotera, Rakai, Sembabule, and Lwengo, are crossed by the eacop mega project, which transports crude oil from Hoima to Port Tanga of Tanzania.

The research study’s findings reveal that the 1,443km EACOP is set to affect River Kibale/Bukora in Kyotera and Rakai districts. The river is one of the most important in the Sango Bay-Musambwa Island-Kagera (SAMUKA) Ramsar Wetland System, renowned for hosting 65 mammal species and 417 bird species. Further, the EACOP is set to affect River Katonga, the water body on whose banks Bigo by Mugenyi, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located.

According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics Report 2024, tourism contributed approximately 4.7% to Uganda’s GDP, and the sector has experienced significant recovery and growth. However, destroying essential tourism sites poses substantial risks to the industry.

The report underscores that the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the EACOP could lead to the irrevocable loss of the biodiversity mentioned above. This grave concern could significantly diminish Greater Masaka’s tourism potential.

“The proposed construction method of the EACOP, the open cut method, as well as the planned monitoring of the EACOP, including at river crossings, every five years and using the pigging method, instead of cathodic protection for corrosion control purposes, puts rivers and Ramsar sites at risk of oil pollution among other impacts. This could cause biodiversity loss and affect scenic views, negatively impacting tourism potential”. The report further reads.

Research report also estimates that the full value chain carbon emissions of the EACOP, which includes emissions from all stages of the pipeline’s life cycle, including extraction, transportation, and refining, are projected at over 379 million metric tonnes over 25 years.

“Carbon emissions are a driver of climate change, which has been implicated in contributing to biodiversity loss, including in Uganda. The climate risks of the EACOP thereby present a risk to eco- and agro-tourism in the Greater Masaka sub-region.” The research adds.

However, the report further implored the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, through the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), to prioritize the development of highlighted sites and promote cultural tourism in the subregion.

According to Mr. Dickens Kamugisha of the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), the government claims that projects like EACOP are aimed at addressing poverty are unrealistic.

He noted that such projects have instead triggered biodiversity concerns, contributed to climate change, and posed significant social risks, such as increased crime rates and disruption of local communities. He emphasized that investing in sustainable economic activities such as tourism would benefit the government and private sector more.

Mr. Paul Lubega Muwonge, a member of IGEN-EA, emphasizes the crucial role of research in tourism product development and its value in laying a strong foundation for all operations.

“Research is an important and desired step in tourism product development; it sets a stronger foundation in all operations. We hope that the Ugandan government and development partners will use this research to harness the benefits of tourism by launching tourist activities in the Greater Masaka sub-region, Masaka.” He said.

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World Bank announces multimillion-dollar redress fund after killings and abuse claims at Tanzanian project

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1 week ago

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April 10, 2025

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A pastoralist indicates the border of Ruaha national park after the expansion. People allege they have faced violent evictions, disappearances and had cattle seized. Photograph: Michael Goima/The Guardian

Communities in Ruaha national park reject response to alleged assault and evictions of herders during tourism scheme funded by the bank.

The World Bank is embarking on a multimillion-dollar programme in response to alleged human rights abuses against Tanzanian herders during a flagship tourism project it funded for seven years.

Allegations made by pastoralist communities living in and around Ruaha national park include violent evictions, sexual assaults, killings, forced disappearances and large-scale cattle seizures from herders committed by rangers working for the Tanzanian national park authority (Tanapa).

The pastoralists say most of the incidents took place after the bank approved $150m (£116m) for the Resilient Natural Resource Management for Tourism and Growth (Regrow) project September in 2017, aimed at developing tourism in four protected areas in southern Tanzania in a bid to take pressure off heavily touristed northern areas such as Ngorongoro and the Serengeti.

In 2023, two individuals wrote to the bank accusing some Tanapa employees of “extreme cruelty” during cattle seizures and having engaged in “extrajudicial killings” and the “disappearance” of community members.

The Oakland Institute, a US-based thinktank that is advising the communities, and which alerted the World Bank to abuses in April 2023, says Ruaha doubled in size from 1m to more than 2m hectares (2.5m to 5m acres) during the project’s lifetime – a claim the bank denies. It says the expansion took place a decade earlier. Oakland claims 84,000 people from at least 28 villages were affected by the expansion plan.

This week, the bank published a 70-page report following its own investigation, which found “critical failures in the planning and supervision of this project and that these have resulted in serious harm”. The report, published on 2 April, notes that “the project should have recognised that enhancing Tanapa’s capacity to manage the park could potentially increase the likelihood of conflict with communities trying to access the park.”

Anna Bjerde, World Bank managing director of operations, said, “We regret that the Regrow project preparation and supervision did not sufficiently account for project risks, resulting in inadequate mitigation measures to address adverse impacts. This oversight led to the bank overlooking critical information during implementation.”

The report includes recommendations aimed at redressing harms done and details a $2.8m project that will support alternative livelihoods for communities inside and around the park. It will also help fund a Tanzanian NGO that provides legal advice to victims of crime who want to pursue justice through the courts.

A second, much bigger project, understood to be worth $110, will fund alternative livelihoods across the entire country, including Ruaha.

The total investment, thought to be the largest amount the bank has ever allocated to addressing breaches of its policies, is a reflection of the serious nature of the allegations.

A metal sign saying Ruaha national park
The project aimed to increase management of Ruaha national park and develop it as a tourist asset. Photograph: Michael Goima/The Guardian

The bank had already suspended Regrow funding in April 2024 after its own investigation found the Tanzanian government had violated the bank’s resettlement policy and failed to create a system to report violent incidents or claim redress. The project was cancelled altogether in November 2024. A spokesperson said the bank “remains deeply concerned about the serious nature of the reports of incidents of violence and continues to focus on the wellbeing of affected communities”.

By the time the project was suspended the bank had already disbursed $125m of the $150m allocated to Regrow.

The Oakland Institute estimates that economic damages for farmers and pastoralists affected by livelihood restrictions, run into tens of millions of dollars.

Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, said the “scathing” investigation “confirmed the bank’s grave wrongdoing which devastated the lives of communities. Pastoralists and farms who refused to be silenced amid widespread government repression, are now vindicated.”

She added that the bank’s response was “beyond shameful”.

“Suggesting that tens of thousands of people forced out of their land can survive with ‘alternative livelihoods’ such as clean cooking and microfinance is a slap in the face of the victims.”

Inspection panel chair Ibrahim Pam said critical lessons from the Regrow case will be applied to all conservation projects that require resettlement and restrict access to parks, especially those implemented by a law enforcement agency.

A herd of elephants crosses and dirt road next to a 4X4
A proportion of the new World Bank funding will go to support communities within Ruaha national park. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

Regrow was given the go ahead in 2017. The Oakland Institute described its cancellation by the government in 2024 as a landmark victory, but said communities “remain under siege – still facing evictions, crippling livelihood restrictions and human rights abuses”.

In one village near the southern border of Ruaha, the brother of a young man who was killed three years ago while herding cattle in an area adjacent to the park, said: “It feels like it was yesterday. He had a wife, a family. Now the wife has to look after the child by herself.” He did not want to give his name for fear of reprisal.

Another community member whose husband was allegedly killed by Tanapa staff said: “I feel bad whenever I remember what happened to my husband. We used to talk often. We were friends. I was pregnant with his child when he died. He never saw his daughter. Now I just live in fear of these [Tanapa-employed] people.”

A herd of cows grazing on dried grass
Cows grazing on harvested rice paddy fields in Ruaha national park, central Tanzania. Photograph: Michael Goima/The Guardian

The Oakland Institute said the affected communities reject the bank’s recommendations, and have delivered a list of demands that includes “reverting park boundaries to the 1998 borders they accepted, reparations for livelihood restrictions, the resumption of suspended basic services, and justice for victims of ranger abuse and violence.

“Villagers are determined to continue the struggle for their rights to land and life until the bank finally takes responsibility and remedies the harms it caused.”

The bank has said it has no authority to pay compensation directly.

Wildlife-based tourism is a major component of Tanzania’s economy, contributing more than one quarter of the country’s foreign exchange earnings in 2019. The bank has said any future community resettlement will be the government’s decision.

Source: The Guardian

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The World Bank Must Be Held Accountable for Harm Inflicted on Tanzanian Communities by Tourism Project World Bank Project Cancelled in a Landmark Victory for Tanzanian Villagers Campaign Victory: World Bank Suspends Funding for REGROW, a Conservation Project Responsible for Evictions & Human Rights Abuses in Tanzania Profiting from misery: A case of a multimillion-dollar tree project sold off before resolving land grab and human rights violation claims with local communities. World Bank Fails to Remedy Harms it Caused in Tanzania, Despite a Scathing Investigation by its Inspection Panel
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Palm Oil project investor in Landgrab: Witness Radio petitions Buganda Land Board to save its tenants from being forcefully displaced palm oil plantation.

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1 week ago

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April 9, 2025

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By Witness Radio team.

Witness Radio has petitioned the Buganda Land Board (BLB) to investigate and address concerns regarding forced land evictions of Kabaka’s subjects and tenants of BLB, whose land is targeted for oil palm expansion in Buvuma district.

Several families in Majjo and Bukula villages in the Nairambi sub-county are currently facing imminent threats of eviction from their land. This urgent situation is compounded by the criminalization of community activists, environmentalists, and land rights defenders by an alliance of Buvuma College School, Kirigye Local Forest Reserve, some officials of Buvuma district local government, and agents of Oil Palm Uganda Limited (OPUL).

In the petition to the Chief Executive Officer of the Board, local communities of Majjo and Bukula villages in Nairambi Sub-county claim that their legal occupancy on Kabaka’s land is targeted and threatened to give way for palm oil growing. Victim families state that between 2015 and 2018, they (residents) registered their Bibanja interests on Mailo land with the Buganda Land Board, which is their landlord and have since been paying Busuulu (annual ground rent) as recognized by the Land Act Cap 236.

The Buganda Land Board (BLB) is a crucial professional body set up by His Majesty the Kabaka of Buganda. Its primary role is to manage land and property returned under the Restitution of Assets and Properties Act of 1993, making it a key player in the resolution of land rights issues.

Witness Radio findings reveal that evictors have captured and used criminal justice system state organs such as police, prosecutors ‘offices, courts, and elected leaders to threaten and target their land and violate/ abuse their land rights, claiming that the families are illegally occupying the land in question. The community’s land is being cleared for palm oil expansion, and portions of it already have palm oil trees planted on it.

The violent evictions in Majjo and Bukula villages began in 2020. Since then, an alliance of district officials, led by Mr. Adrian Ddungu, together with Buvuma College School, OPUL, and Kirigye Forest Reserve, have been accused of orchestrating acts of violence and intimidation aimed at forcefully displacing lawful occupants.

As a common tactic used by many landgrabbers, the criminalization of community land defenders and activists is being applied against those resisting the forced land eviction schemes in Buvuma. They have been constantly arrested and charged with multiple criminal offenses.

“Part of their land has unlawfully been taken and planted with palm oil trees. They also continue to face multiple criminal charges. It is important to note that these charges are unfounded and unjust. Many of them currently face charges of criminal trespass, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and carrying out prohibited activities in the forest reserve.” The petition dated 7th March read, highlighting the injustice of the situation.

Witness Radio has called upon the Buganda Land Board, a key institution with the power to address these land rights concerns, to urgently intervene and stop further evictions in Buvuma.

 

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