By Witness Radio team.
The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in Hoima has taken over the private prosecution case filed by Arinaitwe Peter and Company Advocates on behalf of an East African Crude Oil (EACOP) Project affected community against the Army General, Presidential Representative, District police Commander, and 10 others accused of violently and illegally evicting over 2500 lawful residents from their land they had called home for decades.
On 11th/09//2023, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project-Affected Persons (PAPs) started a private criminal proceeding against the thirteen suspects including Brig. Gen. Peter Akankunda Nabasa, Gafayo Ndawula William, Kyakashari Micheal, one Oketcha Micheal, Bogere Jackson, one Kiiza Nathan Byarugonjo, one Oromo Luzira, a Local Council One Secretary for Runga, one Mukindo Bosco, Okethi Bosco, Oming Jacob, Muswa Micheal, Kawiya Henry, Ningaling Joseph, and others still at large in an effort to hold them accountable for their criminality and human rights violations committed during the Kapapi brutal evictions.
Criminal case file no. 877 of 2023 at Hoima court contains various criminal offenses namely; sexual abuse, rape, criminal trespass, arson, looting properties, 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.
The court session, scheduled for 9 am, faced a delay due to the state attorneys’ late arrival caused by prior engagements. Despite this, the Court commenced proceedings and began by addressing an application submitted by the ODPP on October 10, 2023. This application aimed to grant the ODPP permission to take over the prosecution, citing constitutional mandates and legal provisions.
During these proceedings, key figures including the Army Gen. Brig. Gen. Peter Akankunda Nabasa, Presidential representative, Kyakashari Micheal, and District Police Commander Bogere Patrick, among others, defied the Court’s second summonses issued against them to present themselves before Court. Simultaneously, several other individuals related to the case including Gafayo William, a Hoima-based businessman, Oketcha Micheal, Orumu Luzira, and Oming Jacob were present in Court.
Lawyers for the EACOP community objected to the ODPP’s involvement, raising concerns about potential biases, lack of transparency, the application’s failure to meet the standards outlined in Article 120, Clause 4(a) of Uganda’s Constitution, and the DPP office’s past alignment with the accused. The defense highlighted instances where the ODPP allegedly favored the accused, disregarding serious complaints filed by the community and even resulting in the wrongful imprisonment of the complainants.
“The very office seeking to take over this case was previously instrumentalized by the accused individuals to criminalize the complainants, resulting in the complainants being charged with multiple offenses and imprisoned for periods ranging from three to five months. Moreover, this same office has failed to act on filed cases and complaints by community members against the suspects. For instance, a reported gang rape case at Kitoba police referenced HMD-GEF-003 of three women belonging to the Kapapi community where the 4 suspects include; the District Police Commander, remain unaddressed. How can trust be placed in an entity that has previously been utilized in a manner seemingly benefiting the accused, while overlooking serious complaints filed by the community?” Lawyer Arinaitwe Peter who represented residents asked Court.
In their rejoinders, the DPP’s office, led by state attorneys Catherine Nakaggwa and Crispus Ceaser Naloda, reiterated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) holds the right to appear in any court proceeding, regardless of the stage of the trial initiated under private prosecution emphasizing the DPP’s authority to orally address the court regarding their intention to assume control of the ongoing criminal proceedings.
In addressing concerns about impartiality and transparency, the attorney stated that the lawyers representing the victims will be closely monitoring the proceedings to ensure clarity and fairness. They emphasized that the victims’ legal representatives will “watch a brief,” allowing them to observe and comprehend every step taken by the DPP’s office as they execute their mandate.
While giving her ruling on the submissions, Grade One Magistrate Stella Mwali of the Hoima Court referenced Article 120(3)(c), which grants the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) the authority to assume control and proceed with any criminal proceedings initiated by another individual or authority to grant their request.
“The charges are criminal in nature and the court sees no powerful reason to object the DPP’s office from taking over this case and exercising its mandate.” Her worship said in a ruling.
The 13 accused persons and their agents in the wee hours (1:00 AM) local time on February, 10th 2023, raided people’s homes with dozens of unidentified armed individuals, donning Uganda Police Force (UPF) and Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) uniforms.
Acting under the orders of DPC Bogere and Brigadier Nabasa, along with armed guards affiliated with Magnum, a private security company fired tear gas and live bullets into their houses, sexually abused women, set people’s houses ablaze, physical assaults, kidnaps, looted livestock, and food items and forced eviction of over 2500 people from their land.
The actions of the accused led to the grabbing of 1294.99 hectares of land that were being lawfully occupied and cultivated by thousands of locals in the villages of Waaki North, Kapapi Central, Waaki South, Runga, and Kiryatete within Kapapi and Kiganja sub-counties in Hoima district
Their actions were aimed at positioning themselves to benefit from compensation related to the community’s land, earmarked for an EACOP (East African Crude Oil Pipeline) project scheduled to be developed on this territory.
The private prosecution case of the 13 suspects will re-appear in the same court on the 19th of December 2023 with plea taking.
