Communities Flay Total Energies over Uganda Extractive Activities

The Make Big Polluters Pay (MBPP) Africa coalition organised a “People’s Tribunal for Justice and Reconciliation” in Buliisa District, Uganda on May 16, 2023.

The mock tribunal was informed by the need to put global spotlight on TotalEnergies for alleged intimidation, displacement, and various environmental and human rights abuses through the Tilenga Oil project and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Kasinyi, Kigoya, Kirama, Kiyere, Kigwera and other villages in the Buliisa District of Uganda.

The tribunal which was made up of twelve observers and five jury members heard from ten directly affected community members. It also created a platform to uplift struggles of extractivism and advances regional precedents for liability address.

Eminent jurors who interrogated the alleged victims and arrived at a verdict at the end of the tribunal are Nnimmo Bassey, director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) from Nigeria, Kwami Kpondzo, executive director of Center for Environmental Justice Togo, Aderonke Ige, associate director at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) as well as Kabonesa Sophia and Bamuturaki William, both representatives of affected communities.

Affected persons are alleged to have for years sought justice within a multitude of avenues including filing cases in local courts of law, reporting to local authorities, filing complaints with the grievance handling groups established, etc to stop the alleged impunity of TotalEnergies, but all have been in vain.

After hearing from the victims, the tribunal concluded that TotalEnergies has cases to answer for alleged human and environmental rights abuses and other abuses relating to oil exploration activities in Kasinyi and the other villages.

Dickens Kamugisha, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) said:

“The testimonies from the affected communities reflect growing impacts that the discovery of commercial oil reserves in Uganda have caused. The alleged cases of land grabs, illegal displacements and environmental degradation portend grave danger to local communities and their voices must be heard”.

VOICES OF VICTIMS

Barikenda Fred of Kirama Village, Kigwera Sub- County in Buliisa District:

“TotalEnergies agreed with me that they were going to construct a house elsewhere and resettle me in it so they can take over my land for their activities. Shortly after that I was put on pressure to vacate the land but I objected to this because I have nowhere to go. TotalEnergies then fenced up my home and brought trucks which cleared all my garden and the areas surrounding my home and to date I have not yet been resettled”.

Nyamagunge Beatrice of Kigoya Village, Buliisa District:

“TotalEnergies first told us they wanted land measuring 30 (Thirty) meters wide for the pipeline and a buffer zone of 30 meters of both sides of it. However, when they demarcated, we found out that we were only 7 (Seven) meters away from the demarcated area. We then complained to TotalEnergies but their response was that we are in the 200 (Two hundred) meter buffer zone and further, we shall not be compensated or resettled”.

Full details can be found here:  http://thepeoplestribunal.org/     

THE VERDICT

• That various alleged violations of rights registered in the 10 cases presented by the project-affected persons are instances of systematic repression, undue influence, duress, and resort to intimidation of communities and peoples who appear helpless in the face of a system that has failed and is still failing to protect them.
• The Tribunal unanimously agrees that projects such as the Tilenga project have direct consequences such as ecological damage, land grabbing, corruption, corporate capture, and greenwashing.
• The Tribunal finds that there is an urgent need by TotalEnergies to respect people’s dignity and rights especially those of local communities that have been allegedly affected by their activities and make immediate remedies for the avoidance of further actions, both collective and individual.

The Make Big Polluters Pay global campaign was launched in 2019. The coalition includes organizations such as CAPPA, HOMEF, Center for Environmental Justice Togo, Gender CC South Africa – Women for Climate Change, and Vision for Alternative Development (VALD). Others include Kebetkache Women Development Center in Nigeria, Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and Africa Center for Advocacy (ACA) among others.