Community members affected by the East African Oil Crude Pipeline, EACOP in Kyankwanzi district central Uganda are in dire need for food for their families.
Annamary Kityo from Kikajjo village in Nabulembeko parish, Watubba Sub County in Kyankwanzi District says community members didn’t plant food crops since they were stopped from using the land. According to Mrs. Kityo, the situation has been exacerbated by the delay in compensation money plus the long dry spell.
“We were stopped from cultivating on our. We hoped to get compensation in time so that we can get land where to cultivate but money hasn’t come. The dry season has been on for long and therefore we can’t find even where to buy food from”, she narrated to Community Green Radio
Jane Namusiisi of Half London village in the same parish and district says house wives are finding difficulty in sustaining homes.
“You wake and look for what to serve your children and you can’t find anything. It is completely hard to run a home now”, she explained.
David Seremba, a resident of Kikajjo says as heads of families are struggling to run families. He says those who got compensation, it was insufficient to sustain them. He adds that those who are waiting for compensation are suffering since it has delayed.
“How do you expect me to run my home when you stopped me from using my land?; He wondered.
Asuman Ssembatya, the LC III for Nabulembeko parish affirms the tough situation community members affected by the EACOP project are going through. Mr. Ssembatya says some affected people are so desperate and losing hope of getting their compensation.
“The situation is tough for our people. Many of those that were compensated are crying after the money they got is over. A number of the affected residents are still waiting for their compensation and aren’t sure when it will come”, Ssembatya explained.
Communities affected by oil and gas infrastructures are compensated after their properties are assessed and valued by government. Compensation rates are proposed and drafted by respective district local governments and approved by the chief government valuer. Affected communities have consistently complained of under valuation of their property and delay in compensation.
The EACOP, a USD 5 billion mega infrastructure project, will serve as a conduit for transporting Uganda’s crude oil from the Albertine Graben, starting at Kabaale in Hoima District, to Tanzania’s Tanga Port, where it will be shipped to international markets once completed.
According to the government of Uganda, as of 30th August last year, the EACOP had compensated 97% of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in the country.
Community Green Radio (CGR) has been giving a voice to the project affected persons, PAPs, to demand for their rights by amplifying their voices
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)
By Rajab Bwengye-NAPE
Africa is known as the World’s richest in terms of Natural resources. These include forests, wetlands, minerals, wild animals, fertile soils, lakes and rivers plus other magnificent land forms therefore, why the continent has remained as a habitat for the World’s poor has never been an issue of depravity of natural resources.
The recent discoveries of oil in East Africa confirm the dominance of Africa, as far as endowment of natural resources is concerned. From North, through Central to South; to West and now east, the continent is richly endowed with natural resources. The East African region has been the last frontier. However, the indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which the discovery is made have expressed fear of disruption, pollution, land grabbing, corruption, human rights abuse and insecurity; these consequences have been felt all over the continent.
In North Africa, the Arab spring that started in Tunisia, Egypt, through Libya and now biting Sudan (Noth and South), Syria has exposed the danger that can accompany petrol dollars; the creation of deep seated aristocracies built out of oil wealth. All the above oil rich nations ended up in civil strife.
In Central Africa, DRC has never known peace despite rich natural resource endowment. Oil, copper, gold constitute the denominator figure in the equation.
In West Africa, political instability has been the order of the day mainly due to Oil mining by Royal Shell. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (“MEND”) is, for example, one of the largest militant groups; it claims to expose exploitation and oppression of the people by Federal Government of Nigeria and Oil corporations involved in the extraction of oil in the Niger Delta
In East Africa, there are all signs that poor governance of the oil resource is the biggest challenge that is befalling Uganda’s oil dollar fortunes in the Albertine rift. East Africans in Kenya and Tanzania should, therefore, be wary. Lest the trend comes calling.
Sudan, both North and South, Somalia and Eritrea are already in serious internal conflict; revolving around resource sharing and political machinations. In addition to the above , Oil extraction in the Eastern part of the continent will, in the near future, wreck important ecosystems because oil extractions are being operated in ecologically sensitive zones .
• In Kenya for example, Oil in 2007 was discovered in Sibiloi National Park the South Island and the Central Island National Parks located in the Lake Turkana Basin-North Kenya. The area was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 due to being inhabited by diverse fauna.
• In Tanzania, there is off shore mapping of oil and gas deposits in the deeper continental shelf –The Indian Ocean Coast by The Norwegian Company Statoil Hydro which signed a PSA, in April 2007, on Block II offshore and now , the East African crude pipeline (EACOP) project will in Tanzania alone tranverse 7 regions and twenty-three (23) Districts, namely, Missenyi, Bukoba, Muleba, Biharamulo, Chato, Geita, Mbogwe, Bukombe, Kahama, Nzega, Igunga, Iramba, Mkalama, Singida, Kondoa, Chemba, Hanang, Kiteto, Kilindi, Handeni, Korogwe, Muheza, and Tanga, and cover a distance of one thousand one hundred forty-seven (1,147) kilometres. The thirty (30) metre-wide corridor running for one thousand, one hundred, forty-seven (1,147) km, plus the land-take of the four (4) pump stations, two (2) pressure reduction stations, the marine storage terminal, the twelve (12) camps and the thermal insulation facility will take up ten thousand eighty-one (10,081) acres. This will affect a total of nine thousand five hundred thirteen (9,513) people – the PAPs. . More importantly, the Tanzanian coastline that will also be partly affected is covered by Rich Mangrove forest that are breeding places of many land animal and bird species
• In Uganda/Democratic Republic of Congo, there is Oil exploration in Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to some of the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas.
There is also Oil extraction activities mainly Development of a CPF with capacity to process 190,000 barrels of oil and 700,000 of total liquid per day, Drilling of over 426 wells (200 water injector wells,196 oil producer wells, 2 polymer pilot wells and 28 reference wells) planned to be drilled on 31 well pads, Over 160 kilometrers of flow lines which will transport crude oil and water from the wells to the Central processing facility (CPF) in bullisa at Kasenyi village, 95 km 24 inch feeder pipelines which will transport processed crude oil from the CPF in buliisa to the Export hub and Green oil refinery plant seated on 28 Sq km land in Kabaale-Hoima District and a 1443 km long heated oil and gas pipeline traversing the East african region from Uganda (hoima) to the Indian coast port of Tanga in Tanzania .
These are messing up the biodiversity rich Albertine graben a known world heritage of Flora and Fauna displacing thousands of communities and perpetuating the following environmnental and social economic challenges;
Signing in Darkness –“A community Member-Ms Nyamahungye showing how she was cheated off her land in Buliisa by Oil companies after signing land acquisition documents for the Buliisa based feeder oil pipelines she did not understand”.
“The Consent form has a disclaimer “This Consent form is made in compliance with the requirements to secure the consent of the land owners under section 135 of the Petroleum Act. It shall be signed by the landlord only as evidence of such mandatory consent .It is not and must not be taken as notice of intended use, acquisition or purchase of the described land by TEBU nor does it entitle the land owner to any payment or form of compensation .Any such claim based primarily on endorsement of this consent shall be disregarded”
All the above injustices justify why dirty energy fossils promotion in East Africa, in Africa and any where in the world should be fought at all cost.
The writer is the Sustainability School & Community Green Radio Program Manager -NAPE
Several farmers in EACOP affected areas in Kyankwanzi district are reporting huge agricultural losses and distorted livelihoods due to compensation delays.
Abas Mukanguzi 70 years old one of the affected farmers in Kamukanga village Byerima Sub County in Kyankwanzi District says they were told not to plant long term crops which also forced them to start growing food for eating.
Mukanguzi who grows guava says his life was affected due to the kind of fruits he grows.
“My life changed negatively because I can’t plant my guavas since they take long to grow and yet it was my source of money,” Makanguzi painfully explains.
Mukanguzi says some of his children are still at home since he is longer earning money that he used to get because guavas had good market. He is contaplating relocating to another district.
“I am planning to shift to Kiboga so that I can plant my fruits soo that I can earn some money againt to look after my family as I wait for the compensation,” Mukanguzi said.
Samuel Mugisa the Social Affairs Officer at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda -PAU said there is a program that is put in place as part of the ECOP’s commitment to empower affected households through Livelihood Restoration programs, aiming to restore, transition, and improve their livelihoods.
Beatrice Nyansiyo the Sub County Councilor says some people stopped farming hoping there are to be paid in a short time as promised by the company and the government. She adds that the affected persons have experienced a setback in their livelihood since the area is predominantly occupied by communities entirely dependent on farming.
“Many of our people have just started to improve on their living because they had waited for their money to relocate and start farming in other areas. They no longer have hope because we have tried as local leaders but all in vain,” she said.
Florence Nabulime, a 58 year farmer says there only hope is that there is information that any time they are to be compensated.
“We had taken long without any information relating to compensation but we now hopeful that compensation will come soon. We opened bank accounts and only wait for the money”, Nabulime said.
The EACOP is a planned 1,443km pipeline to be constructed from Western Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. The pipeline is expected to transport crude oil from Uganda’s Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields to export markets
Kalule Joseph, a 49 year of old resident of Byerima LC B village Byerima sub county Kyankwanzi district is still demanding for compensation 3 years after his property was assessed and valued.
Kalule says since December 2022, he has been expecting his compensation but with no results and his hope is fading.
“Since 2022 I have been waiting for my money but what I am surprised of is some of my neighbors who were assessed after me were paid but for me I even don’t know what is going on”, Kalule said.
Kalule’s frustration is compounded by the fact that the value of his property has tremendously changed and that he would pray for a reassessment and valuation. His property was valued at about 32.5 million Uganda shillings (about USD 9,000).
“I want them to come back and we value because in 2022 the price of land was cheaper and now land is expensive and yet I have never got any coin”, he explained.
Ssenono Tadeo the Byerima Sub county LC 3 chairperson affirms Kalule’s paid and frustration. Ssenono says that due to the delayed compensation, there are reported cases of family breakage because husbands can’t fulfill family financial obligations.
“Compensation money has delayed and this is affecting family stability. Husbands can no longer sustain families. Some wives have divorced because of economic hardships”, Ssenono explained.
There are over 50 EACOP project affected persons in Kyankwanzi District who claim they haven’t been compensated.
Bukenya Christine, the Woman Member of Parliament Kyankwanzi district says Parliament passed the ECOP bill to compel government to compensate affected communities promptly and adequately.
“As parliament, we are working on a legislation to compel government clear compensations adequately and urgently. During my district monitoring expeditions, I realized many affected community members aren’t compensated yet”, the MP explained.
Samuel Mugisa the Social Affairs Officer at the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) says the compensations are still ongoing and that those who have not yet been paid will be paid.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa noted that 95% of the displaced people have been resettled, despite the difficulties in paying landowners in Uganda, where land ownership is perpetual.
National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) joined the rest of the world to commemorate International Day of Rural Women by running a special program dubbed “special rural woman” on its Community Green Radio.
The program was intended to celebrate the rural women’s contribution by giving them a platform to amplify their voices on challenges, successes and inspirations encountered in taking part in development.
The International Day of Rural Women recognizes the critical roles and contributions of rural women in enhancing agriculture and rural development, food security and nutrition, and eradicating rural poverty. The 2024 International Day of Rural Women invites all stakeholders to celebrate the rural women’s essential role in building climate resilience, conserving the biodiversity and caring for the land.
UN Women’s latest research estimate that globally, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and 236 million more women and girls into food insecurity by 2050.
During the program, the women noted that natural resources and livelihoods are being depleted and rural women’s ability to safely secure healthy food, clean energy and water has diminished.
Margret Nassiwa, a resident of Kasimbi Village in Mulagi Sub County in Kiboga district says unpaid for work such as cooking, cleaning, fetching water and firewood, and taking care of the children and other family members give women less time to go for paid labour and end up having only one option as agriculture as source of employment.
However, their efforts to be economically empowered in farming are still frustrated by cultural norms that put men at the center of everything who end up owning and selling the crops grown by women yet they(women) do all the laborious agricultural work.
The women highlighted that despite the fact that rural women play indispensable role in the area of food security, poverty eradication and rural development in general, they still face great challenges such as limited ownership, control and access to land due to patriarchy that increases the poverty level margin.
Rose Kunihira a rural woman who has been involved in farming since 2001 after marriage says the challenges she faces as a rural farmer range from limited land that she acquired after losing her husband in 2007 to unproductive land due to loss of soil fertility.
“As a single mother of two, I raise my children through farming but as a rural farmer, I lack access to information provided to other farmers, I pray to be empowered through financing to acquire more land” Kunihira laments.
Kate Kobusingye says though farming is vital for rural women, they are barred by the high costs incurred to buy inputs for their crops because of the modern seeds that need fertilizers yet most of the soils have become poor due to planting one type of crop.
“We are faced with costly Agro-inputs yet as rural women farmers, we are poor, so why can’t they empower us to use indigenous seeds that are cheap to maintain if we are to eradicate poverty and promote food security “says Kobusingye.
Valeria Nabweteme, another rural woman from Kyankwanzi notes that lack of access to clean and safe water and clean energy consumes much time for rural women to involve in other source of livelihoods that are income generating. She adds that lack of access to electricity and financial services like banks are a challenge to women who may want to deal in business.
“Women spend long distances looking for firewood and water which is a challenge. If government can extend services to rural areas or provide clean energy alternatives, maybe rural women can get out of poverty,” said Nabweteme.
However, the challenges highlighted by women can be overcome if women are empowered and know their rights according to some of the rural women activists who are trying to change the lives of other women.
Sylvia Nalumagga, a Coordinator for Bunyoro Women’s Development Network and the Deputy Mayor for Hoima City says women can be change agents if they put their brains together to find solutions as they continue putting pressure on government. She says her group came up with an idea of making charcoal briquettes from food wastes and energy saving stoves as an alternative to solve the problem of firewood and its related challenges like scarcity, environmental degradation, smoke among others.
Annet Kasoro, the Coordinator of a Kabaale Women’s Farmers group in Buseruka Sub County in Hoima says that they have embarked on growing and promoting indigenous seeds that were facing extinction due to improved seeds which had become costly and prone to pests and disease leading to food insecurity which impacts much on women.
Beatrice Rukanyanga, a member of the steering committee for Rural Women’s Movement says women need to have one voice and be able to stand up and advocate for their rights so that the government can listen.
She says they are mobilizing women to join the rural women’s movement so that they can be at the forefront of demand for environmental social and economic justice.
Precious Naturinda, the Field Mobilizer for NAPE’s Grassroots Women Movement says there is need to unite in promoting rural women’s rights, amplifying their voices and taking concrete action to support their indispensable role in forging a more equitable, just and sustainable world for all people and the planet.
She says NAPE is mobilizing women to influence decision making in national development processes as well as promote the adoption of feminist development alternatives in communities affected by resource extraction and large development projects.
Leaders in Kiboga and Kyankwanzi districts have called on citizens to embrace government programs as a solution to end poverty which is the main cause of gender-based violence.
Speaking in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner for Kyankwanzi, Peruth Kabaale said that embracing key government programs is the only solution to get Ugandans out of poverty.
“The only way we can end gender based violence and violence against children is to embrace parish development model, Emyooga, Youth livelihood programs, Grow loans and all opportunities so that we can get out of poverty and then we would have solutions for early marriages,” Kabale said
Kabale however noted that government action alone is not enough and asked all stakeholders, parents, community leaders, civil society organizations, religious and cultural leaders and the private sector to also join the fight against forced marriages, teenage pregnancies and school dropouts.
“We must take joint actions to ensure all our girls enroll and complete all levels of education, live healthy, free from violence and all harmful social norms. We must work together to dismantle all barriers that hinder girls’ progress in Uganda,” she said.
Her comments came after the young girls in the district raised an alarm over increasing school drop outs, forced marriages and gender-based violence affecting them; which are attributed to poverty.
According to the District Vice Chairperson for Kyankwanzi, Amooti Mijjumbi, poverty worsens gender-based violence (GBV) by increasing economic dependence, limiting access to resources, and reinforcing harmful social norms.
Christine Kaaya, the Kiboga district woman Member of Parliament, urged parents to follow up cases of rape and defilement from police up to court so that the offenders are apprehended.
Story compiled by Gerald Senkoomi
Women with disabilities organized under Hoima Blind Women Association (HOBWA) are participating in efforts to mitigate climate change and its effects.
Joy Rufunda, the HOBWA Executive Director, says their aim is see 5,000 trees planted by women at their homes and on their land away from home within one year.
Rufunda says the degradation of natural forests and wetlands in favor of human activities like agriculture has contributed to climate change and its effects. She says people with disabilities are the most affected because if accessibility to firewood is hard, they find more trouble compared to the ones without disability.
Joseph Mukama, the PWDs chairperson in Kikuube district council asks women to select eco-friendly tree seedling species like musizi, mvule (musiimbi) and mahogany – the indigenous trees known for their advantage to mitigating climate change in both rain formation and soil conservation for crop production and high yields.
This is contrary to exotic trees like eucalyptus that he says cannot allow intercropping compared to native trees.
Anna Mary Tumusiime, a member of HOBWA, called for tireless and continuous community sensitization about climate change.
Beatrice Aheebwa, the councilor for PWDs in Kapaapi sub-county, Hoima district, is appealing to PWDs to always work hard in spite of their bodily disabilities.
Aheebwa advised that amidst climate change being experienced, people should not only plant trees but also food crops like cassava, maize and beans for their home consumption to avoid food insecurity.
She stressed the members’ positive mindset in mitigating climate change and its effects is key for a desirable environment to live in.
In rural Kapeke Sub County in Kiboga district, Kapeke Women Beekeepers Group has discovered beekeeping as a sweet path to economic independence. The group is fostering their lives, fostering resilience and self-sufficiency while protecting the environment.
Sarah Kamyuka, the group chairperson says beekeeping was initially scary for women but continuous training and learning from Community Green Radio, they have slowly embraced the idea.
“Women feared bees but poverty frightens more. Women have overcome beekeeping anxieties through hands on training and bee keeping programs on radio have motivated many women to start the business. The group started when we were like 10 but we are now over 30 in my community,” said Kamyuka.
To date, the group earns about 2,000,000 Uganda shillings per harvest from sales of honey and created value addition through other bee related products like propolis and candles. The profit is re-invested in production processes to increase their harvest and improve their quality.
Kamyuka says they are also planting indigenous trees to support their beekeeping business and this has contributed towards environmental conservation.
Julius Kyamanywa, the station Manager for Community Green Radio, believes that such projects are helping women to transform their lives at the same time conserving the environment. He applauded the women, who are also members of Kapeke Green Radio listeners club, for embracing such environmental friendly initiatives in sustaining their incomes and conserving the environment.
For years, fishing provided for Constance Nyamisana’s family, but restrictive regulations have crippled her livelihood. Nyamisana, now in her 80’s, has lived in Kaiso fishing village on Lake Albert’s shores. She says her husband; a fisherman would wake before dawn to set out onto the lake. The daily catch would feed their family and provide income to send their children to school. She said her role was to vend fish along the lake which has since reduced due to restrictions to conserve the Lake.
In 2018, the government imposed fishing restrictions to conserve Lake Albert’s dwindling fish stocks. While well-intentioned, the regulations devastated Nyamisana’s community.
Nyamisana is among the many women who are now facing numerous challenges resulting from the restrictions including loss of livelihood, food insecurity and high school dropout which have led to increased gender based violence.
Sylvia Kemigisa, the Chairperson for Kaiso Women Empowerment Agency said the increasing cases of gender based violence prompted them to establish a safe space with support from National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE). The space, according to Kemigisa is helping the police to handle minor cases of gender based violence through mediation, counseling and peace building.
She notes that most of the cases reported are largely affecting women due to loss of livelihood and food insecurity.
Kemigisa says despite these hardships, they remain determined as they have started exploring other alternative sources of income like kitchen gardening, selling handmade crafts and pushing for more inclusive fishing regulations.
Nyamisana, who already has a small garden of egg plants, said the alternative sources of livelihoods are promising. She says she gets market from her community and is able to get enough food for his family.
She calls upon the government to consider the livelihoods of communities in implementing the restrictions.
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