By the Witness Radio team.

For more than eight years, the landscape of Kiryandongo district in western Uganda has undergone significant changes, shifting from being occupied by local farmers to a violent takeover by multinational companies.

What used to be small farms, homesteads, and community life is now dominated by endless stretches of sugarcane and grain plantations, disrupting local economies and social bonds. Families who once cultivated food and built futures now face displacement, dispossession, and uncertainty about their livelihoods and community cohesion.

“They found us living in peace. Now everything is broken: families, dreams, livelihoods. investors forcibly took away our land.” Benon Beryaija told Witness Radio, recalling the past.

Despite displacement, criminalization, and fear, some land defenders remain steadfast, inspiring the audience to value resilience and collective resistance.

Benon Beryaija, the chairperson of the Kiryandongo land eviction victims, is at the center of the resistance and continues to organize locals despite threats, arrests, and violence.

“The bigger group left, but we remain resolute. “We are defending what belongs to us; our land that was grabbed by multinationals. It is a very hard fight, and it is threatening my life. I have been arrested and tortured for defending my people.”

His experience reflects a broader pattern across Uganda and beyond, where land and environmental defenders increasingly face intimidation, legal harassment, and violence.

The situation in Kiryandongo mirrors a growing global crisis. A global coalition of small-scale farmers and rural movements has issued a strong call for international mobilization against land dispossession, state repression, and what it describes as a growing “neocolonial offensive” targeting rural communities worldwide.

In a statement released ahead of the International Day of Peasant Struggles on April 17, La Via Campesina warned that agribusiness expansion, militarisation, and restrictive trade policies are accelerating land grabs and undermining food sovereignty across continents.

Founded in 1993, La Via Campesina brings together millions of peasants, landless workers, Indigenous peoples, pastoralists, fishers, migrant farmworkers, and rural women and youth, all of whom advocate for food sovereignty and peasant agriculture.

The annual commemoration marks 30 years since the Eldorado do Carajás Massacre in Brazil, where military police killed 21 landless workers during a protest for agrarian reform. The movement says the anniversary is a reminder of “ongoing violence in our territories” and the continued impunity for crimes against land defenders.

Peasant movements warn that land grabbing is being accelerated by agribusiness expansion, extractive industries, and global financial interests often backed by foreign capital and state support.

“They do not come to restore democracy,” the statement reads. “They come to steal the land we cultivate,” accusing multinational corporations and governments of turning land and ecosystems into “speculative assets.”

Recent findings from the Food and Agriculture Organization, in collaboration with the International Land Coalition and CIRAD, reinforce these concerns. Their “Status of Land Tenure and Governance” report estimates that more than 1.1 billion people, about 23 percent of the global adult population, live under constant fear of losing their land or homes within the next five years.

The report identifies commercial pressures as a major driver of land insecurity, echoing concerns raised by peasant movements.

The statement also criticizes global trade systems, particularly agreements negotiated under the World Trade Organization, arguing that they favor multinational corporations at the expense of smallholder farmers.

La Via Campesina has called for agriculture to be removed entirely from WTO frameworks, saying free trade agreements undermine national sovereignty and expose local producers to unfair competition.

“We WARN that the capitalist and neocolonial offensive is not limited to direct violence: neoliberal trade policies are also deadly for rural life. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), such as Mercosur’s with the European Union and others, are instruments of submission that dismantle national sovereignty to favor transnationals. We reject treating food as a commodity and trade as a weapon; we demand that tariffs be legitimate tools to protect small producers from dumping, not levers of geopolitical coercion wielded by empire.” The statement adds.

Beyond economic pressure, the group reveals what it calls the systematic criminalization of those defending land, water, and natural resources. Across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, activists are increasingly labeled as “terrorists,” arrested, or subjected to prolonged legal battles.

“The capitalist and colonial system that represses and dispossesses our peoples continues unabated to this day, enabling land grabbing, protecting the elites, and criminalizing those who fight for the land through laws and selective judicial processes and other forms of persecution.” The statement from the group mentioned

This trend is evident in many countries, including Uganda, where communities resisting land-based investments, including infrastructure, oil, and plantation projects, have faced arrests, intimidation, and shrinking civic space.

As April 17 approaches, La Via Campesina is calling for coordinated global action from protests and community dialogues to solidarity campaigns.

It is also urging governments to implement international frameworks such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to protect land rights and food sovereignty.

“There is no peace without justice. And no justice without resistance and collective action,” the movement sa

By the Witness Radio team.

Kampala, Uganda; Land fraud cases in Uganda rose sharply in 2025, highlighting growing concerns over land governance and access to justice.

According to the 2025 Annual Crime Report (ACR), 663 land fraud cases were reported, underscoring systemic issues like weak enforcement and corruption that hinder land governance and access to justice.

The report further reveals significant gaps in the handling of these cases. Of the 663 reported incidents, 398 remain under investigation, raising concerns about delays in the process. Police submitted 333 cases to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal guidance.

However, 145 complainants were advised to seek civil redress, while only 74 cases have been taken to court so far.

The police report states that the most common offences related to land fraud in Uganda include fraudulent procurement of certificates of title, obtaining registration by false pretenses, criminal trespass, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretenses.

The rise in land fraud cases comes amid increasing pressure on land across Uganda for development, as disputes over ownership, documentation, and access continue to intensify.

The Annual Crime Report also shows that police recorded 196,405 criminal cases across the country in 2025, with land-related offences rising sharply.

Experts have long identified systemic challenges in land administration systems, such as weak enforcement, corruption, and power imbalances, which should concern land officials and policymakers as they hinder justice and fuel land conflicts.

The low number of cases reaching court, compared to those reported, highlights significant barriers to justice, raising concerns about whether land victims can effectively seek redress and the overall effectiveness of criminal investigations into land-related offences. This situation underscores the need to protect vulnerable landowners and communities.

Commenting on the report, Jeff Wokulira Ssebaggala, Witness Radio’s Team Leader, said the findings on land-related cases are a stark reminder of the urgency to strengthen and facilitate justice systems that investigate and prosecute land-related criminal cases to protect poor communities’ land from forced land evictions.

“The rising number of land fraud cases calls for urgent initiatives, including strengthening land registration systems, improving investigations, and promoting equitable land ownership, access, and use for the poor, and most importantly, promoting access to justice for local communities.

The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) stand in solidarity with small‑scale coastal fishing communities on the West Coast as they challenge TotalEnergies SA’s Deep‑Water Orange Basin drilling approval in the Cape Town High Court.

By the Witness Radio team.

Cape Town, South Africa- The Western Cape High Court has concluded a two-day hearing in a landmark environmental justice case challenging the approval of ultra-deep-water oil and gas exploration by TotalEnergies in the Deep Western Orange Basin (DWOB), off South Africa’s West Coast.

The case, brought by environmental organizations including The Green Connection and Natural Justice, alongside the Aukotowa Primary Fishing Co-operative, challenges the legality of the environmental authorization granted by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources.

The applicants argue that the decision was unlawful, irrational, and inconsistent with South Africa’s constitution and environmental laws, particularly in its evaluation of the environmental, climate, and socio-economic risks of the proposed exploration.

The Director General, Department of Mineral & Petroleum Resources, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment, and Total Energies EP South Africa S.A.S are the respondents in the case, which has sparked debate on environmental concerns likely to be caused by the project.

Neville van Rooy, the outreach ambassador for The Green Connection, told the Court that the project introduces unprecedented risks.

“The DWOB presents conditions unlike anything South Africa has ever faced – both in water depth and technical complexity. Neville van Rooy emphasized that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) did not adequately address these unprecedented risks, which could have serious environmental consequences.”

The case dates back to 23 October 2023, when the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources granted environmental authorization, and appeals were dismissed on 24 April 2024, highlighting the ongoing legal process.

In October 2024, the applicants filed a case in the Western Cape High Court challenging the environmental authorization. They are also seeking to have both the Director-General’s decision and the Minister’s dismissal of their appeal reviewed and set aside.

The nearly 100 small-scale fishers and community members protested outside the Western Cape High Court, voicing concerns about marine ecosystems and the threat to local livelihoods posed by the project.

The demonstrators highlighted threats to marine ecosystems, declining fish stocks, and the livelihoods of coastal communities already facing the growing impacts of climate change.

“The State failed to meaningfully assess how this project will affect our livelihoods, food security, cultural heritage, and constitutional rights – effectively prioritising corporate interests over vulnerable fishing communities. We have the right to be heard and the right to a healthy environment. But the approval process ignored our lived realities and the warnings we have repeatedly raised.”  Walter Steenkamp, the chairperson of Aukotowa Fisheries, a small-scale fishing cooperative in Port Nolloth, revealed.

The applicants argued that the government failed to assess the project’s need and desirability properly, downplayed the risks of ultra-deep drilling, ignored the socio-economic impacts on coastal communities, and overlooked obligations under the Integrated Coastal Management Act. They also maintain that the project conflicts with South Africa’s net-zero commitments and that the narrative of gas as a ‘bridge fuel’ is unsupported by science.

“Decision-makers disregarded key environmental laws, particularly the Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA). The public trustee duty requires the State to safeguard coastal public property for current and future generations. Both the Director-General and the Minister failed to apply mandatory criteria on coastal public property, public interest, and intergenerational justice, rendering their decisions unlawful.” Melissa Groenink-Groves, Programme Manager of the Defending Rights Programme at Natural Justice, emphasized.

Further, Steenkamp criticized the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for downplaying the risks associated with drilling at depths greater than 2,000 metres below sea level.

“Without robust, site-specific scientific evidence and a Blow-out Contingency Plan tested in South African waters, approving this project violates the precautionary principle, which requires decision-makers to act with heightened caution where activities pose the risk of serious or irreversible harm.”

In response, the government of South Africa and TotalEnergies defended the approval, arguing that the process complied with national laws, including the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA).

On the issue of “need and desirability,” the respondents submitted that the project’s value lies in the knowledge to be gained through exploration, which is critical for informing future energy planning and resource management. They insisted that it would be premature and legally inappropriate to assess the impacts of production at this stage.

Addressing concerns about oil spill risks and socio-economic impacts, the respondents pointed to several technical studies—including the Oil Spill Modelling Report, Fisheries Impact Assessment, and Socio-Economic Impact Assessment respondents argued that the decision-makers relied on credible global datasets to assess the socio-economic impacts on small-scale fishers in the final ESIA, which presented a full evaluation of the potential consequences in a range of scenarios, including the socio-economic impact of an oil spill on small-scale fishers.

Regarding compliance with coastal protection laws, government lawyers argued that the principles outlined in the Integrated Coastal Management Act were substantively addressed within the broader ESIA process.

The respondents further argued that the applicants had failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to challenge the decisions, urging the Court to dismiss the case and order the applicants to cover legal costs.

This case is part of a broader wave of resistance by communities opposing projects they say threaten their survival and ecosystems. Large oil corporations have faced mounting criticism for financing projects associated with environmental destruction and, in some cases, for fueling conflict and social disruption.

In Uganda, for example, TotalEnergies has faced criticism over its involvement in major oil developments, including the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. These projects have been linked to widespread displacement, livelihood losses, and social disruption affecting more than 100,000 people.

For South African Communities and civil society groups, projects like DWOB threaten marine biodiversity, traditional livelihoods, and South Africa’s climate commitments.

“Decisions made in Cape Town about TotalEnergies and Shell will have a major impact on the future of our fishing industry. For generations, our families have relied on traditional fishing to put food on the table. Oil exploration threatens our ability to provide for our children and support our communities.” Ernest Titus from Lambert’s Bay added.

The Court is expected to announce the judgment soon, a decision that could have significant implications for South Africa’s fishing communities, marine ecosystems, and future offshore oil exploration.