STATEMENT ON THE DEMOLITION OF AGABA’S HOUSE IN BULIISA

Tuesday, April 8th, 2025 | By

April, 8th 2025

EVICTED, DISPLACED, AND DENIED JUSTICE:

A TRAGIC STORY OFAGABA AND UGANDA’S OIL-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES –THE CASE OF TILENGA & EAST AFRICA CRUDE OIL PIPELINE (EACOP)

On 3rd March, 2025, Mr. Chrispas Andrew Agaba Katushabe stood amidst the rubble that was once his home, his family scattered, his children left without shelter, and his future uncertain. His eviction was not just a personal tragedy, it was a symbol of the deep injustices faced by the many Ugandan families displaced by TotalEnergies’ Tilenga and EACOP oil projects.

Agaba’s fate was sealed by a series of court rulings that prioritised corporate and government interests over the rights of ordinary citizens. It all began on 4th December, 2023, when the government of Uganda rushed to file a case against 42 families at the High Court in Hoima. Within just four days, on 8th December, 2023, Justice Jesse Byaruhanga ruled against these families, granting the government orders that effectively erased their ownership rights:

i.      The government was allowed to deposit inadequate compensation money in court, despite the fact that the families had rejected it for being unfair and inadequate.

ii.      The ruling sanctioned the eviction of the affected families without them first receiving any compensation.

iii.     The government was granted the right to demolish their houses and seize their land.

iv.       Most disturbingly, the ruling absolved the government of any further liability regarding meted on the affected families.

For Agaba and many others, this was not just a loss of property, it was a brutal violation of their constitutional rights. Uganda’s Article 26 of the Constitution explicitly states that no person can be deprived of their land without fair and adequate compensation being paid first. Yet, despite this, the government rushed forward with their eviction plans, invoking Section 6 of the 1965 Land Acquisition Act – a colonial-era law that was historically used to dispossess Ugandans of their land.

As Agaba’s family fought to protect their home, the government intensified its attack. On 10th January, 2025, they filed another application at the Hoima High Court, seeking demolition orders against Agaba. Even before Agaba’s lawyers could receive official notice of the ruling, the government had already destroyed his home and thrown his family out onto the “streets”.

This act of forced eviction was not just illegal, it was inhumane. It disregarded the dignity and survival of the most vulnerable: the poor, women, children, and the elderly, who were left to fend for themselves without food, shelter, or support. It revealed a judiciary that had surrendered to political pressure, allowing the government to illegally amend Uganda’s Constitutionthroughthebackdoor.

While cases filed by the government are heard and decided in just four days, cases filed by oil- affected families, some dating back to 2014, continue to rot in court, ignored and unresolved. This is not justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Agaba’s  story is  not  unique.  Across  Uganda’s  oil-rich  regions,  families  are  being  forcibly displaced, their land grabbed, their homes demolished, and their futures destroyed, all in the name of oil extraction. The promise of development has turned into a nightmare for those who once lived peacefully on their ancestral land.

But the fight is far from over. Agaba and many others are determined to seek justice. We are working with Agaba and all those who are suffering oil injustice to:

1)  File a case at the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to challenge these injustices at a regional level.

2)  File a  complaint  with  the Uganda  Human  Rights  Commission  (UHRC) to  hold  the government accountable for these violations.

3)  We are working with the communities in Buliisa and beyond to construct a temporary

house for Agaba’s family to live as we support him to fight his rights and get justice,

4)  We call upon the public to contribute anything possible to support Agaba to feed his children, keep his children in school and ensure they get health services,

5)  We shall support Agaba to petition international stakeholders such as the European Union in Uganda, American Embassy and international bodies that believe in human rights,

6)  Agaba will be supported to petition the World bank and other financial institutions not to fund the EACOP and Tilenga projects to stop human rights violations,

7)  Further, Agaba will be supported to petition the Chief Justice to ensure that cases filed by the oil affected people are heard as a matter of urgency,

8)  We shall work with Agaba and other oil affected people to write to the East African Community Secretary General and the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to intervene and ensure that the EACOP case at the EACJ is fast-tracked to ensure that East Africans get justice and live in dignity.

These are just the first steps. We will continue to explore all legal and non legal avenues to ensure

that the voices of Uganda’s oil-affected communities are heard and that justice is served.

Uganda’s Judiciary Must Choose: Justice or Complicity?

The Ugandan judiciary must decide whether it will stand with the people and the Constitution or continue to serve as a tool for powerful interests. Article 2 of the Constitution is clear: any law that contradicts the Constitution is null and void. The courts cannot continue to rubber-stamp the government’s illegal land grabs hiding under the cover of colonial laws of 1965. Its absurd that for over two years the Constitutional Court of Uganda has failed to decide the case regarding the constitutionality of Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act of 1965.

The world is watching. The people of Uganda will not be silenced. The fight for justice continues.

This statement is signed by the following organizations who are working to ensure that oil affected people get justice:

SIGNATORIES

       National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE)

     Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO)

       Uganda National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Alliance (UNREEEA)

       Centre for Sustainability Innovation and Research (CSIR)

       Center for Citizens Conserving Environment and Management (CECIC)

       Fridays for Future- Uganda (FFF)

       Toro Initiative for Socio-economic Development

       Guild Presidents Forum on Governance (GPFOG)

       International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

       Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA)

       Agro-Tourism Association (ATA)

       Strategic Response for Environment Conservation (STREC)

       Civic Response on Environment and Development (CRED)

       Lake Albert Children and Women Advocacy Development Organization (LACWADO)

       Navigators of Development Association (NAVODA)

       Friends with Environment in Development (FED)

       Youth for Green Communities (YGC)

       Women for Green Economy Movement (WoGEM)

       Tasha Research Institute Africa

       African Initiative on Food Security and Environment (AIFE)

       Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF)

       Food Rights Alliance (FRA)

         Environment Governance Institute (EGI)

       Center for Conservation and Ecoenergy Initiative (CCEI)

       Oil and Gas Residents’ Association (ORGHA)

       East African Crude Oil Pipeline Host Communities (EACOPHC)

       Oil Refinery Residents Association (ORRA)

       Center for Environmental for Research and Agriculture Innovation (CERAI)

       South Western Institute for Policy and Advocacy (SOWIPA)

       Initiative for Green Planet (IGP)

       Youth for Nature Conservancy (YNC)

       Liberty Probono Initiative (LPI)

       Activists for Climate Initiative (ACI)

       Kasese Women’s Group

       Youth Concern on Environment and Development (YCED)