By the Witness Radio Team,
The Court of Appeal in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, has started hearing an appeal case challenging the High Court’s decision not to cancel the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) certificate.
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) issued Hoima Sugar Limited with an ESIA certificate of approval for the company’s Kyangwali Mixed Land Use project in August 2020 to cut down a natural forest, Bugoma central forest reserve to grow sugarcane, set up an urban center, and engage in other activities degrading the forest. Kyangwali Mixed Land Use project is a facility owned by Hoima Sugar Limited.
Bugoma forest reserve is 155 miles (250km) long, northwest of Kampala, and covers more than 40,000 hectares. It is the largest remaining block of natural tropical forest along the Albertine rift valley. It is home to 38 species of mammals, of which four are threatened according to global reports, and nine are listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list. Some 600 chimpanzees, classified as endangered and of global conservation concern, live in this stretch of tropical rainforest.
The appeal arose from a case filed in the high court in Kampala in 2020 demanding for cancellation of HSL’s ESIA certificate. The partners argued that Hoima Sugar Limited violated Regulation 10 of the 1998 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations which provides for an environmental impact study and shall be conducted following the terms of reference (ToR) developed by the developer in consultation with NEMA and the lead agency.
The High court case filed by the Save Bugoma Forest Campaigners (SBFC) included the Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), and the Water and Environment Media Network (WEMNET), and others.
The petitioners further urged that Regulation 12 was violated too which also requires developers to publicize the intended project, its anticipated effects, and benefits through the mass media in a language understood by the affected communities for not less than fourteen days and others.
In May 2021, the High Court in Kampala ruled against the SBFC and did not cancel HSL’s ESIA certificate. In the ruling, Justice Musa Ssekaana referred the applicant’s case an attempt to suppress the real facts by exaggerating that the entire forest is being cleared for sugarcane planting and winning public sympathy.
SBFC in their appeal, argues that the judge failed to address the violations by NEMA and Hoima Sugar Ltd. For instance, the judge’s view that it was okay for the developer not to consult institutions like National Forest Authority (NFA), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Kikuube district local government, and others while the developer was undertaking the ESIA study is terrible.
During the first hearing, the registrar of the Court of Appeal, Lilian Bucyana gave both parties timelines to file conferencing notes. The conferencing notes which are supposed to be filed before the next hearing on October 6, 2023, will contain the brief facts of the case as it will be argued by the parties and will also include the issues to be determined by court thereafter.
“We are happy that the court has commenced processes to enable the hearing of our case. However, the court delayed hearing the case and Hoima Sugar wantonly destroyed the Bugoma forest. It is unfortunate. We hope that the court will prioritize this and other environmental cases to protect Uganda’s last few remaining tropical rainforests.” Dickens Kamugisha, the SBFC chairperson, said,
Frank Muramuzi of NAPE added, “Before Hoima Sugar was illegally allowed to destroy Bugoma, the forest was home to about 11.4% of Uganda’s chimpanzees. Reports indicate that the number of chimpanzees in the forest has reduced. Why would Uganda allow to lose its important biodiversity for sugarcane? We hope that the court of appeal will stop this destruction.”
