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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

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

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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.

MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

EACOP PAPs have started a private criminal proceeding against Army General, Hoima Police Commander and others over their criminal acts during illegal land evictions.

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By Witness Radio team.

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project-Affected Persons (PAPs) of the Kapapi community have started criminal proceedings at Hoima Chief Magistrates Court against the Hoima Rural District Police Commander, Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) General, and Hoima Deputy Resident District Commissioner (D/RDC) and others at large for the criminal and attempted offences committed while illegally evicting over 2500 locals off their land.

The evictees were residing in Waaki North, Kapapi Central, Waaki South, Runga, and Kiryatete villages in Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties in Hoima district.

Brig. Gen. Peter Akankunda Nabasa, Gafayo Ndawula William, Kyakashari Micheal (Deputy RDC Hoima), Oketcha Micheal, Bogere Patrick (DPC, Hoima), Kiiza Nathan Byarugonjo, Oromo Luzira (Secretary LCI, Runga), Mukindo Bosco, Okethi Bosco, Oming Jacob, Muswa Micheal, Kawiya Henry, Ningaling Joseph and others still at large have been summoned to appear before Hoima Chief Magistrate court and show cause why they should not be prosecuted.

The 1st accused person is the Deputy Commander of Uganda People Defense Forces Police, First Division, Kakiri in Wakiso District; The 2nd Accused is a Businessman with Businesses in Hoima District; the 3rd Accused is Deputy RDC Hoima District. The 4th Accused is the District Police Commander, Uganda Police Force, Hoima District. The 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th Accused are residents of Kapaapi Village, Kapaapi Parish, Kapaapi Sub County, Hoima District.

Criminal case file no. 877 of 2023 opened at Hoima court contains various criminal offenses allegedly committed by the accused, such as criminal trespass, arson, looting property, sexually abusing and raping women, battering people, and forcefully evicting residents from their homes, which constitutes a violation of the non-derogable right to freedom from torture, cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment, as guaranteed under Article 23 And 44 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda.

According to complainants following the invasion, the accused persons perpetrated severe human rights violations against them and their families. These transgressions encompassed the discharge of tear gas canisters into the same, firing of live bullets, setting their houses ablaze, physical assaults, kidnap and the forced eviction from their land.

“During the raid, the accused persons came to my house at around 1 AM local time and set it on fire forcing us out. By the time I rescued the children who were deeply asleep, one of them was severely burnt. Upon forcing us out of our homes, I, my children, and my neighbors were tied up, severely battered, women raped, and forcefully evicted us from our land. Currently my family is rendered homeless, living at a church in Bulisa without any basics of life.” Said one of the witnesses in the case.

On February 10, 2023, at 1:00 AM local time, dozens of unidentified armed men, cladding Uganda Police Force (UPF) Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) uniforms and believed to be under the orders of DPC Bogere and Brigadier Nabasa together with armed guards from Magnum, a private security company dispossessed lawful land occupants without compensation, resettlement, or a court order.

Why Tirenga is mentioned in this illegal land eviction? In a February 2021 report from Total Energies Uganda, titled “Tilenga Project – Resettlement Action Plan 4,” it identified Kapapi, Runga, Waaki, and Kiryatete villages as areas that will be affected by the proposed Tilenga Feeder Pipeline Component (RAP 4).

The Tilenga feeder pipeline corridor is approximately 95 km long. It originates from the Tilenga Project Central Processing Facility (CPF), about 8 km northeast of Buliisa town in Buliisa District and 5 km south of the Albert Nile. The purpose and the need for the Tilenga feeder pipeline, according to Total Energies, is to deliver crude oil to the planned refinery in Kabaale and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

According to Witness Radio – Uganda findings, the individuals named in the case file have been in correspondence with the Total Energies before and after the illegal land eviction with the motive to benefit from the community’s grabbed land.

The case is yet to be fixed for hearing.

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Statement: The Energy Sector Strategy 2024–2028 Must Mark the End of the EBRD’s Support to Fossil Fuels

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is due to publish a new Energy Sector Strategy before the end of 2023. A total of 130 civil society organizations from over 40 countries have released a statement calling on the EBRD to end finance for all fossil fuels, including gas.

From 2018 to 2021, the EBRD invested EUR 2.9 billion in the fossil energy sector, with the majority of this support going to gas. This makes it the third biggest funder of fossil fuels among all multilateral development banks, behind the World Bank Group and the Islamic Development Bank.

The EBRD has already excluded coal and upstream oil and gas fields from its financing. The draft Energy Sector Strategy further excludes oil transportation and oil-fired electricity generation. However, the draft strategy would continue to allow some investment in new fossil gas pipelines and other transportation infrastructure, as well as gas power generation and heating.

In the statement, the civil society organizations point out that any new support to gas risks locking in outdated energy infrastructure in places that need investments in clean energy the most. At the same time, they highlight, ending support to fossil gas is necessary, not only for climate security, but also for ensuring energy security, since continued investment in gas exposes countries of operation to high and volatile energy prices that can have a severe impact on their ability to reach development targets. Moreover, they underscore that supporting new gas transportation infrastructure is not a solution to the current energy crisis, given that new infrastructure would not come online for several years, well after the crisis has passed.

The signatories of the statement call on the EBRD to amend the Energy Sector Strategy to

  • fully exclude new investments in midstream and downstream gas projects;
  • avoid loopholes involving the use of unproven or uneconomic technologies, as well as aspirational but meaningless mitigation measures such as “CCS-readiness”; and
  • strengthen the requirements for financial intermediaries where the intended nature of the sub-transactions is not known to exclude fossil fuel finance across the entire value chain.

Source: iisd.org

Download the statement: https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-09/ngo-statement-on-energy-sector-strategy-2024-2028.pdf

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MEDIA FOR CHANGE NETWORK

Pushing back: The EACOP victim community rushes to court seeking reinstatement onto their land and compensation.

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By Witness Radio team

One of the East Africa Crude Oil Project (EACOP) victim communities in Hoima district has run to Hoima high court challenging a forceful and violent eviction which pushed them off their land, asserting that it was very illegal and unconstitutional and subjected them to degrading treatment.

The Kapapi community, as commonly referred to, is composed of both pastoralists and cultivators that were lawfully living in Waaki North, Kapapi Central, Waaki South, Runga, and Kiryatete villages in Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties in Hoima district since the 1950s.

In a February 2021 report from Total Energies Uganda, titled “Tilenga Project – Resettlement Action Plan 4,” it identified Kapapi, Runga, Waaki, and Kiryatete villages as areas that will be affected by the proposed Tilenga Feeder Pipeline Component (RAP 4).

The Tilenga feeder pipeline corridor is approximately 95 km long originates from the Tilenga Project Central Processing Facility (CPF), about 8 km northeast of Buliisa town in Buliisa District and 5 km south of the Albert Nile. The purpose and the need for the Tilenga feeder pipeline, according to Total Energies, is to deliver crude oil to the planned refinery in Kabaale and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), as the Government nominee, holds a 15% participating interest in the Tilenga project; Total Energies E&P Uganda B.V., the operator, holds 56.67% while the other partner, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Uganda Limited holds 28.33% shares.

On 10th February 2023 at 1:00 am local time, unidentified dozens of men cladding Uganda Police Force (UPF) and Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) uniforms, together with armed guards from Magnum, a private security company violently evicted over 2,500 locals from 1294.99 hectares of land with no compensation or resettlement, looted animals and food stuffs. The eviction was executed without a court order.

Through their lawyers Arinaitwe Peter & Company Advocates, Mulega Eria and 13 others on behalf of the pastoralists community in a Civil Suit no. 78 of 2023, sued a UPDF Brigadier General. Nabasa Peter, Bogere Patrick, a Hoima Rural District Police Commander, Kyakashari Micheal, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Hoima district, one Gafayo Ndawula William, Kiiza Nathan Byarugonjo, Oketcha Micheal, Oromo Luzira, Magnum Security company limited, Muhwezi Aston, William Kiiza, Kyamanywa Alex, Wilber Kiiza, Hoima district Land Board and Commissioner land registration among others.

In a second matter, Civil Suit no. 79 of 2023, Ajaruva Uchida and 112 others on behalf of the crop growers community, sued a UPDF Brigadier General Nabasa Peter, Bogere Patrick, a Hoima Rural District Police Commander, Kyakashari Micheal, a the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Hoima district, a one Gafayo William Ndawula, Kizza Nathan Byarugonjo, Oketcha Micheal, Asimwe Moses Byangire, Oromo Luzira and Magnum security company limited among others.

Both communities are accusing the latter of carrying out a forceful and violent eviction from their land, alleging a disregard of lawful procedures driven by a desire to profit from EACOP related projects.

In both suits, both communities demand for several remedies from the courts of law, such as a permanent injunction restraining all defendants and their agents from further interference with their land, an order for an immediate return onto their land, and compensation.

Arinaitwe Peter, one of the lawyers, expressed optimism that Courts would hear the cries of the Kapapi people, who have endured destitution, significant suffering, and displacement, with some living in internally displaced people’s camps following the brutal eviction.

“We are optimistic that the honorable Court will listen to the cries of the Kapapi people. These people are destitute, they have suffered immensely, and some of them are currently residing in internally displaced people’s camps due to a brutal eviction carried out by the individuals mentioned in different suits. Our purpose here is to ensure that their voices are heard, have justice served, and that they are immediately returned to their land while the legal case is ongoing.” Said Mr. Arinaitwe.

Mr. Kataza Samuel, one of the community environmental defenders, called on Hoima Court to expedite the hearing of their matters since many of the residents are undergoing hardships as a result of forceful evictions.

“Our people are enduring immense suffering, with many families torn apart by poverty. They are scattered across in different parts of the country, struggling for survival, while some are forced to live with relatives. Unfortunately, essential services like shelter, food, healthcare, and education for their children remain elusive. We are here to seek justice for our violated rights, and, therefore, we implore Court to intervene urgently,” He added.

As we write this story, the grabbed land continues to be heavily guarded by Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) Soldiers and Magnum Security Company guards.

Court is yet to fix hearing dates for both suits.

 

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