Gov’t accused of abusing Court to aid land grabbing for EACOP

“To protect and assist the public in Uganda in all matters touching, ancillary or incidental to the law,” is among the objects for which the Uganda Law Society is established (Uganda Law Society Act, CAP 276, 1956, revised 2000). In which case, I ask: “Government Sues 80 Community Members over EACOP Project Government wants the…

“To protect and assist the public in Uganda in all matters touching, ancillary or incidental to the law,” is among the objects for which the Uganda Law Society is established (Uganda Law Society Act, CAP 276, 1956, revised 2000). In which case, I ask:

Has the Uganda Law Society joined in to protect and assist the estimated 25,000 Ugandans, of over 3,600 households, whose 2,470 acres of land the state is enabling Total Energies and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) to grab?

If not, why not?

What is the position of the Uganda Law Society on the Government using courts of law to legitimize land grabbing; as it is articulated in the AFIEGO and COTFONE Press release?

“Government Sues 80 Community Members over EACOP Project

Government wants the affected people to pay its court costs for, among others, refusing low compensation!

The High Court in Masaka is tomorrow, September 11, 2024, expected to hear a court case that the Government of Uganda (GoU) through the Attorney General’s office has filed against 80 people whose land in Lwengo, Kyotera and Rakai districts is being compulsorily acquired for the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.

The people own or are beneficiaries or are administrators of 41 parcels of land that are being acquired for the EACOP project. The project is owned by Total Energies E&P with 62% shares, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) with 8% shares as well as the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments with 15% shares each.

On behalf of the EACOP project developers, TotalEnergies superintended over efforts to acquire 2,470 acres of land from 3,660 households in Uganda. The households had an estimated population of 24,770 people at the time that the socio-economic surveys for the EACOP Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) were conducted.

The EACOP project’s compulsory land acquisition processes commenced in 2018 and are ongoing to date. The land for the project is being acquired from households in ten districts in Uganda including Hoima, Kikuube, Kakumiro and Kyankwanzi. Others include Mubende, Gomba and Ssembabule. Yet others include Lwengo, Kyotera and Rakai.”

Read full AFIEGO AND COTFONE press release here.

Profiled photo source @ Sanya Ivan Elivis on X: “20 #StopEACOP activists, including 7 impacted community members, who were arrested in Kampala during a peaceful demonstration last week Monday appeared in court this morning. The magistrate was absent & they will remain in detention before appearing in court again on Thursday!”