Locals protest compulsory land acquisition in Uganda’s oil-belt  

Landowners marched to the High Court in Hoima City Monday protesting a court order that they should be evicted from their land before compensation to make way for the Tilenga Project. 
 
Tilenga Project is the country’s biggest upstream development that is operated by French energy giant, TotalEnergies, which will produce 190,000 barrels of oil per day. 
 
Armed with placards inscribed with words like “Don’t displace us for oil, stop land grabs for Tilenga!" the landowners stormed the Hoima High Court at around 10am protesting the December 2023 court verdict. 

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On December 8, 2023, Justice Jessy Byaruhanga ruled that the families’ compensation be deposited in court, to be processed after TotalEnergies E&P (U) BV has taken over the land. The French company is acquiring the land on behalf of the Ministry of Energy.
 

The Attorney General, on behalf of Ugandan government, sued the landowners on December 4, 2023, and his main prayer was that court allows the Ministry of Energy to compulsorily acquire the land and deposit compensation for project affected persons (PAPs) in court, pending resolution of their disputes.
 
The ruling came after the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development filed a court case against 42 households whose land in Buliisa District is being compulsorily acquired for the oil project.
 
According to court records, 16 landowners rejected the compensation value on the grounds that it is too low; 18 are claimants to land over which there are running ownership disputes, while seven landlords are unknown.
 
The Hoima High Court judge delivered the ruling within four days of filing of the case and after one hearing. Among those to be evicted are landowners who have battled the energy giant since 2022. One of these is Fred Balikenda, whose land TotalEnergies fenced off in 2022 before agreeing compensation, even though the French supermajor built a replacement house for him.
 
After marching to court on Monday, PAPs’ representative identified as Fred Mwesige read the petition as a handful of court officials helplessly watched the drama unfold.   
 
‘Denial of justice’
 
Mr Mwesige said the swift court ruling – delivered within four days and after one hearing – raises serious concerns about procedural fairness of the judicial system that requires effective judicial remedy. 
 
“The desire to save time and expedite the proceedings does not justify disregarding such a fundamental principle as the right to adversarial proceedings,” he said.  

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‘Limited access to justice’
 
The aggrieved landowners argued that suing families in a distant court disadvantaged them due to short notice, lack of transportation and money to fund it, and unawareness of the lawsuit. The distance between Hoima to Buliisa is approximately 100 kilometres.
 
‘Unresolved land disputes’
 
They also said several families have ongoing land ownership disputes that should have been resolved before the eviction order. 
 
“Landowners were offered significantly lower compensation than the true value of their land,” the protesters said. 
 
Other people said the government offered them between Shs500,000 and Shs1 million for an acre piece of land and yet the current value of an acre is between Shs8m and Shs10m. 

 
‘Potential collusion’ 
 
The communities fear that the government is prioritizing the interests of oil corporations over the rights of its citizens.
 
Demand
 
They are demanding for the immediate halt of the eviction and compensation processes until an independent expert conducts a thorough, inclusive, and transparent review of the court ruling.
 
They want to ensure fair and adequate compensation for the affected landowners based on independent valuation and in consultation with the community.
 
The project affected persons also want the government to address the outstanding land disputes and unclear land ownership issues before proceeding with the project.
 
They further want the government to guarantee the affected communities’ right to fair process and access to justice by affording them a reasonable opportunity to present their case in a reasonable time and by properly examining the submissions, arguments, and evidence adduced by the parties. 
 
In addition, they want an impartial investigation into the allegations of collusion between the government and oil corporations conducted.
 
Counsel Kato Tumusiime, a lawyer representing the aggrieved persons, said: “The reason for this petition is that the PAPs are concerned about how their land was taken, how the evaluation was made and how the compensation has been delayed. These people are demanding justice. Let them be heard and compensated.” 
 
Tilenga and Kingfisher are the two oil production projects that started drilling works in 2023 and are slated to produce the first barrels of oil 2025.