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.
National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) has launched a compendium on the dynamics of land acquisition for development in the global south with a call for a model of development that benefits local people.
The compendium, that was launched at Nican Resort Hotel on October 3rd, involves thematic topics on historical, ongoing and emerging land questions relating to how land is acquired for large land-based investments. It is a product of intellectual study group sessions on Land and Natural resource that NAPE has been convening since January 2023, comprising of Rosa Luxemburg Foundation partners in Uganda as well as other civil society actors, academicians, journalists and opinion leaders.
During the launch, the Executive Director, Mr. Frank Muramuzi noted that local people’s land is being grabbed in the guise of development by government and investors. He noted that globally, especially in African countries and Uganda in particular, a few powerful individuals both multinational and domestic acquire land that rightfully belongs to the local people for large plantations and extractive industry leaving the host communities impoverished.
Mr. Muramuzi said a people-centered model of development that fulfills human rights and protects the environment is urgently needed.
Mr. Richard Mugisha, a Researcher, argues that land titling is a new form of land grabbing that is being used by development actors to grab land. He said that there is a continuous push for individual land ownership and land titling as opposed to customary land ownership to make it easy for actors to grab land from individuals.
Mr. Mugisha noted that political elites have acted as an umbrella for the land grabbers hence making the communities suffer not only due to lack of knowledge in regards to their rights but also because the laws and policies do not cater for protection and reservation of these rights.
“Customary land that involves many people is hard to put in the market. But with a land title, one can easily be put to corner to easily sell,” said Mugisha
Mr. Muhamed Lunyango, a scholar at Makerere Institute of social research explained that with land titles, the land is being taken over forcefully by replacement, leasing or being bought cheaply in the name of development hence violating human rights of existence of the locals and right of the ownership of land. He said with individual ownership, one can easily be convinced to give away land at a cheaper price compared to when it’s a community living on the land customarily.
“Our focus should not be on ownership alone; whether a man or a woman owns land individually, but rather on whether the claims we have on a land as a collective- man, woman, and children- are protected. Because owning land as an individual makes us a target for land grabbers who have an assumption that those communities must let go of their land, for which they must accept the monetary equivalent of the same,” Mr. Luyango explains.
Mr. Joram Basiima, a resident of Kigaaga village in Hoima district said they are already experiencing land grabbing by development actors who pay them little money.
“In our communities, we are already experiencing land grabbing by carbon trading companies like Tree for Global benefits, New Forest Company and Green Resources among others, who make us sign documents we don’t understand and end up giving us little money and taking charge of the forest. They came into our communities of Kikuube and Hoima districts obtaining land from people who are living on the land adjacent the river line forest. They gave them some little money, 6 million shillings which could not even buy half an acre. And they were threatening people that they must sell to them or suffer a lot with government,” said Mr. Basiima.
It is on this note that Mr. Muramuzi called on communities to start collectively registering the land and also start processing their land titles as a community or a family to be able to protect themselves from land grabbers who take advantage of individual land ownership.
To read more about the compendium, follow this link: https://www.greenradio.ug/download/nape-compendium-report/
STORY COMPILED BY PRECIOUS NATURINDA AND ADRINE TWONGIRWE
Beatrice Rukanyanga’s group, Kwataniza Women Farmer’s group was among the 54 Non-Governmental Organizations whose operation, the government suspended in 2021.
The Community Based Organization, located in Buseruka Sub County in Hoima district aimed at promoting women’s livelihoods and rights, was suspended for four months.
Whereas the reason for suspension was among others non-compliance, Rukanyanga says her group had no compliance issues. She instead says,
“The government sees us as anti-development and they do all this to instill fear in us so that we don’t hold them accountable.”
Rukanyanga is among many women activists who have braved threats and intimidation for talking against the risks related to the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline and its negative impacts on the local communities in Uganda’s Albertine region.
Sylvia Kemigisa, another activist and the chairperson of Kaiso Women’s Group located in Kaiso fishing village along Lake Albert in Hoima district also expressed concern over the frustrations they go through to renew their operating license with the district.
“We normally experience delays from district leaders who sometimes threaten to close our group They always say we are against oil and gas industry yet we always talk about issues affect our community such as loss of livelihoods, increased gender based violence and high school dropout rates,” said Ms.Kemigisa.
According to the activists, the communities are feeling the pinch of negative impacts of extractives including increased cases of gender based violence, food insecurity land grabbing and violation of human rights due to the massive infrastructure development for oil and gas.
“Our communities are already experiencing food insecurity fueled by oil and gas developments which have increased cases of land grabbing due to pipeline, airport and refinery projects in our area,” said Rukanyanga. “Besides that gender based violence sparked by food insecurity, land grabbing and unfair compensation has increased. In 2022, National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) established a safe space at our office with trained caretakers to handle cases of gender based violence but in a year, we register over 300 cases which mostly affect women,” she said.
According to Rukanyanga, they have continuously been stifled by government for defending the rights of people affected by crude oil activities.
It is against this background that the grassroots women are building power through grassroots women movement as a strategy to collectively fight against the negative impacts of oil and gas.
The NAPE led women’s movement that has already mobilized over 35000 women in Hoima, Buliisa, Kiboga, Kwankwanzi, Kikuube and Nwoya districts is aimed challenging the negative impacts of oil and gas by standing in solidarity, speaking up and holding their leaders accountable.
“There is power in numbers. The government finds it hard to target an individual or a group when we are speaking as one voice yet organized in thousands. In case of any problem, we support each other,” said Rukanyanga.
Rajab Bwengye the coordinator of programs at NAPE called upon women to continue fighting for their rights as NAPE builds the grassroots women movement with a target of mobilizing at least 50,000 women to engage collectively against the dangers of extractives and demanding for climate justice by close of 2027.
During their recent interaction meetings at the close of August 2024, EACOP affected women under the Grassroots Women Movement led by National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) expressed dismay over continued land grabbing, gender based violence, forced evictions and hunger and also increased environmental degradation which have left women in the livelihood hardships.
“We thought it was oil and prosperity, the productive land for agriculture has been taken for oil and gas developments as speculators and rich people grab land leaving women- who have for long lived on the land for survival- in livelihood hardships. We are suffering with accelerated food insecurity, climate change effects and ecosystems depletion,” said Justine Nyakalaya, a resident of Kakindo village in Buliisa town council.
According to the women, the communities are feeling the pinch of negative impacts of extractives including increased cases of violence against women, girls and children, gender based violence, food insecurity, and violation of human rights due to the massive infrastructure development for oil and gas.
“Our communities are already experiencing food insecurity fueled by oil and gas developments which have increased cases of land grabbing due to the pipeline, airport and refinery projects in our area,” said Rukanyanga. “Besides that gender based violence sparked by food insecurity, land grabbing and unfair compensation has increased. In 2022, National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) established a safe space at our office with trained caretakers to handle cases of gender based violence but in a year, we register over 300 cases which mostly affect women,” she said.
According to Rukanyanga, they have continuously been stifled by government for defending the rights of people affected by crude oil activities commending the work NAPE and the Green radio are doing to ensure women are well organized and well-coordinated to collectively defend their rights through movement building.
The women further appreciated the Community Green Radio for amplifying their voices and giving them a platform to speak up and collectively resist the negative impacts of oil and gas extractives.
“Community Green Radio has been instrumental in putting our voices on the airwaves so that we can talk about the issues affecting us, contribute to and initiate conversations within our community about the challenges we face, the solutions and how to hold our leaders accountable,” said Sylvia Kemigisa of Kaiso Women Empowerment agency thanking partners such as 11th Hour, American Jewish world Service and Woman Kind World Wide who are supporting Women Organizing and the Green radio Outreach Advocacy Work.
The women say they have been targeted by government to silence them not to talk about the negative impacts of oil and gas but Community Green Radio has given them the safe space to speak out collectively against Oil injustices they face.
“Even when we are not allowed to hold meetings, the Community Green Radio journalists often record our voices and play them on radio,” said Sylvia Kemigisa, the Chairperson of Kaiso Women Empowerment Agency.
They called on Community Green Radio journalists to make more frequent visits and coverage of oil and gas injustices amidst economic hardships noting that their remote and hard to reach locations quite often put them at a disadvantage making them suffer in silence against negative impacts of the many oil and gas infrastructure hosted in their localities singling out Oil well pads, oil pipelines, central processing facilities and oil roads.
Rajab Bwengye, the coordinatorof projects at NAPE said the Green radio’s aim is to strengthen the voices of grass root women and youths, give them an advocacy platform and shape interventions on issues affecting them. He pledged for continued coverage of their issues and putting their voices on the airwaves.
“Women are the experts of their own lives. They know better the issues affecting them than anybody else and that’s why as Community Green Radio, we have created safe spaces for them to be heard and be part of the conversation on oil and gas injustices,” said Bwengye.
SheliaMuwanga, the Country representative of American Jewish World Service (AJWS) who joined the NAPE team on the Women Solidarity campaigns against extractives in the Oil rift called on Women not to give up but rather continue to mobilize and defend collectively against corporate capture.
National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) has been applauded for building the resilience of communities and amplifying the voices of marginalized women to collectively resist the negative impacts of oil and gas extractives in the Albertine women.
During the meeting of women organized under Grassroots Women Movement, which is coordinated by NAPE, the women appreciated NAPE for organizing them into groups and empowering them to know their rights.
“We were not able to speak up while the government was poorly compensating us for the land they took for Kaiso-Tonya road. But when NAPE came in, they sensitized us on the importance of speaking up and resisting injustice collectively. We formed Kaiso Women’s Group and have since advocated for women’s rights,” said Sylvia Kemigisa, a resident of Kaiso fishing village in Kabaale Sub county, Hoima district.
Daisy Kwikiriza, the Chairperson of Buliisa United Women with Disability, appreciated NAPE for specifically amplifying the voices of women with disabilities that were for long been left out amidst human rights violations caused by oil and gas industry.
“Women with disabilities are discriminated in our society and because of that, I used to fear speaking in public due to my disability but NAPE built my confident and supported us to form a group of women with disabilities which I am now heading. I thank NAPE for inclusive programs where women with disabilities are considered and respected. I now know my rights and I have taken a mantle of empowering other women with disabilities,” said Kwikiriza.
The women also appreciated NAPE for supporting them with social and economic empowerment programs.
“NAPE has given us safe spaces aimed at minimizing gender based violence cases caused by oil and gas developments. We are not only handling cases reported by women but also men who feel violated by women,” said Lucy Mbuubi, a resident of Butimba in Kikuube district.
“NAPE has helped to amplify our voices through Community Green Radio. We are organized into listeners clubs and we go to the radio often to talk about issues affecting us. This is in addition to other good programs including environmental conservation initiatives, trainings on women’s rights and economic empowerment and also safe spaces to end gender based violence in our communities,” said Beatrice Rukanyanga, the Chairperson Kwataniza Women Group.
The NAPE Board Chairperson, Ephraim Niwagaba Lemmy, appreciated NAPE’s efforts in empowering communities and amplifying their voices. He also appreciated the women leaders for committing to voluntary work in ensuring that women are organized in groups and stay together.
“I am happy that NAPE work is felt on ground. I also thank the women leaders for mobilizing their fellow women and bringing them together to fight for their rights. I am happy that your groups have withstood the threats and intimidations in pushing for women’s rights,” said Niwagaba.
Frank Muramuzi, the NAPE Executive Director said the organization is committed to building resilient communities that can engage the status quo with regard to human and environmental rights abuse. He appreciated communities for making it possible.
Women affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) have been urged to take part in efforts aimed at mitigating effects of climate change in the wake of oil developments.
While meeting women affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Hoima, Kikuube and Buliisa districts, Frank Muramuzi, the Executive Director for National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) said oil projects and other related infrastructure like the roads, pipelines and the airport have already increased ecosystems depletion which will accelerate climate disasters.
Muramuzi urged women to plant trees, embrace energy saving initiatives like making charcoal briquettes and energy saving stoves to reduce on tree cutting.
During the meeting, the women from the districts of Buliisa, Hoima and Kikuube districts said they are already experiencing poor harvests and water scarcity which they attribute to oil and gas developments.
“The last agricultural season was characterized with poor harvests with communities specifically in Kabaale Sub County affected by the long dry spell which surfaced at a time people expected more rains after planting crops. Our soils no longer hold water for long which we attribute to massive cutting down of trees and destruction of water sources like Bugoma forest and swamps,” said Annet Kasolo, a resident of Kabaale Sub County in Hoima district.
Gorreti Kiiza, a resident of Kadindo cell in Buliisa town council said the area is experiencing floods which affect crops and houses due to massive tree cutting to pave way for oil and gas infrastructure.
“Bullisa is currently a beehive of oil and gas activities oil well pads are within people’s residential areas, pipelines and road constructions are everywhere this has led to massive vegetation loss. All this has caused floods which have affected crops leading to food insecurity and also forced displacement,” said Kiiza.
Kiiza further appreciated NAPE for organizing them into Grassroot Women’s Movement to collectively speak up against the challenges they are facing and building resilient communities able to fight for their rights.
STORY COMPILED BY OUR REPORTER
The discovery of oil in Uganda, especially that of commercially viable deposits, came with need to establish infrastructure for the exportation and refining of the oil. The infrastructures include the oil refinery, the feeder pipelines, purified oil pipelines to Buloba, the EACOP and the oil road. All these infrastructures require land.
In the quest for land for these oil infrastructures, government of Uganda together with their partners, the oil companies embarked on the search for land. The process of land acquisition came with displacement of people since these developments are done land.
The process of relocation and compensation has come with several challenges that include; delayed compensation, forced relocation, inadequate financial literacy for the PAPs before compensation and undervaluation of people’s property
These issues have manifested themselves in Kiboga and Kyankwanzi where the East African Crude pipeline and multipurpose pipeline pass.
“We were not sensitized when issue of compensation came up. People were just bumped into and we made decisions out of fear and ignorance”, narrated Mr. Leo Sebuwufu of Lwanda in Kibiga sub county Kiboga district where the multipurpose pine line passes.
“People’s land was surveyed and locals were stopped from using their land in 2017. People fear to cultivate on their land and yet their money isn’t being paid. It should be also remembered that the value of land then was different from what it is today but people aren’t paid and no one knows when they will have paid,” explained Mr. Asuman Ssembatya, the parish chairperson for Nabulembeko Parish in Watubba sub county in Kyankwanzi District.
The concerns were raised during an engagement meeting on August 8, 2024, organized by the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) under sustainability school Programme.The meeting, that took place in Kiboga town, comprised of selected district council representatives, local leaders and project affected persons to discuss the compensation issues.
Ms. Sarah Nankya, the chairperson for Kyankwanzi District land board expressed willingness to work with stakeholders to ensure justice for all affected persons. Ms. Nankya however expressed disappointment with how those concerned with compensation, Strategic Friends International, conduct their issues. She said these officials are not easily accessible and never reach out to officials at the district.
“We shall work with these affected people to ensure all are compensated. Our challenge in that the agencies charged with compensation issues never reach out to us,” explained Ms. Nankya.
The facilitator of the meeting, Dr. Adolf Mbaine from Makerere University implored the community members to always be asserts on matters regarding their rights.
“The only way your issues can be heard and be acted upon by those in authority is by you speaking out loudly”, he told the meeting.
Frank Muramuzi, the NAPE Executive Director implored community members to be assertive in matters regarding their rights, especially the right to our property and in this case land.
“Always be ready to speak out on matters of your rights. The community Green Radio is a platform to advocate for your rights. And for you in public offices, always listen to the cries of the people,” explained Mr. Muramuzi.
The NAPE Board chairperson, Prof. Ephraim Lemi Nuwagaba pledged NAPE’s continued support to provide a platform for communities to express themselves.
“The only way those in authority will understand your issues, is by you speaking out. Let your voices be heard. Our pledge to you in that we shall continue providing a platform for you to express yourselves,” said Prof. Nuwagaba.
The rapid growth of extractive industry in Uganda’s Albertine graben is at the same time rapidly affecting the ecosystems. The activities of oil companies have displaced the fertile farmlands and green vegetation making agriculture increasingly unviable to the host communities.
In Hoima’s Kabaale Sub County where oil refinery is set to be constructed and where the East African Crude Oil Pipeline begins, it is visibly seen that the community land, rivers and ecosystems are being violated by extractive activities at an alarming rate with the construction of Kabaale International Airport, EACOP and expansion of Kizirafumbi-Kabaale oil road in addition to increase.
But raged against this is a network of small holder farmers who are rising against the destruction of natural resources. By reducing the amount of fertile land and destroying the ecosystems they heavily depend on for agriculture, the host communities are already envisaging reduction of capacity for food production and denying them hope of food sovereignty; which they are resisting.
A few kilometers from the oil refinery area, women small holder farmers organized under Tugarre Ebyobuhangwa women’s group literally meaning ‘Lets save the environment’ have been battling with the leaders and oil companies over the massive destruction of indigenous trees as a result of oil activities.
They accuse the government of fronting the needs of oil companies at the expense of community needs.
“Our group petitioned Hoima district local government over massive destruction of our natural resources due to infrastructural development for the oil industry like roads. We demanded that government should replace the indigenous trees that have been cut down due to oil activities, protect the communities’ land by issuing land titles and also protect the buffer zones of water bodies,” said Annet Kasolo the group chairperson.
Kasolo says the petition has yielded results. “After the petition, the government is now distributing indigenous trees to farmers to promote agro ecology. So far, I have already received over 1000 indigenous tree species from Hoima district local government and SBC Company that is working on airport construction. The government has also promised to issue land certificates and people are currently being evicted from the buffer zones near major streams in this area and swamps,” said Kasolo.
The residents living along the East Africa Crude Oil pipeline say they have witnessed massive environmental destruction which they attribute to drying up of water sources in the area.
In Kigaaga village, which is in the outskirts of the refinery area and also affected by EACOP, women under Kigaaga Oil Refinery Women Development Association (KORECWODA) are engaged in establishment of indigenous tree nurseries to reforest the area currently destructed by oil developments.
Penina Ruhindi, the group chairperson says over 2,000 indigenous seeds have so far been distributed and planted by community members especially those along the EACOP.
According to the farmers, the continued forest destruction has contributed to change in seasons, which is already affecting farmers. Jesca Buteraba, a member of Butimba Sustainability Conservation Association (BUSUCA) says the farmers are already affected by the long dry spells and heavy rain fall which has threatened food security. According to Buteraba indigenous seeds still prove to be resistant to climate change effects and promoting them would promote food security.
Women are generally the primary custodians of seed diversity and wild biodiversity and therefore play a critical role in maintaining the health and resilience of local ecosystems. She says they are using traditional approaches of indigenous seed storage and multiplication to ensure that the seeds are protected.
Experts warn of looming scarcity
According to a report quoted by The Daily Monitor on August 17, 2023, a rapidly growing population and expanding human and industrial activities have led to significant strain on both underground and surface water sources in the Albertine Graben.
Despite threats and intimidation from oil companies, Rev. Fred Musiimenta successfully won the battle of fair compensation for his land acquired for East African Crude Oil pipeline (EACOP) after 6 years of protesting.
Rev. Musiimenta, a project affected person from Butimba village in Kikuube district says he received his long-awaited revised compensation in August last year after declining to sign what he termed as unfair compensation.
“When they realized that I was determined, they went silent on my demands; the compensation delayed for years. They knew this would make me bow to little compensation but I kept my stand. They later agreed to revise my rates,” said Musiimenta who could not divulge the details of how much he received.
The project affected 3,648 people in Uganda and Kikuube alone has 390 affected people. But according to Rev. Musiimenta, only 4 declined to sign for little pay until the compensation was revised.
The EACOP land acquisition process was overwhelmed by threats and intimidation from Total Energies and its sub contactors according to Musiimenta and as a result many people were intimidated to sign for unfair compensation.
“The officials could say if you don’t sign for your compensation, your money will be taken to court, you will not win the case against the government and given the expensive nature of corrupt courts in Uganda the residents could not afford the court stress,” he said.
He also narrated that others were tricked into accepting what they now realize as inadequate compensation for their land.
“They would tell them that everyone had already accepted the money and it’s only you remaining and many people ended up signing,” he said
He explained that they petitioned the government in 2021 disputing the compensation rates that were used to define the value of their properties which were not in any way equivalent to the accumulating land prices in the area.
“The government together with oil companies was using the evaluation rates for 2018/2019. When we petitioned, they started threatening us, we kept our stand. We told them to review the rates or take our land on lease terms,” said Rev. Musiimenta.
Rev. Fred Musiimenta, who is the chairperson of Butimba Sustainability Conservation Association (BUSUCA), attributed the success to empowerment and capacity building gained from National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE).
“NAPE has sensitized us on our rights and how to fight for it. That’s why I have successfully demanded for what rightfully belongs to me,” he said.
In what he termed as an indirect land grabbing, Rev. Musiimenta says the oil companies and government were frustrating the host communities with unfair compensation, loss of livelihoods and difficulty in accessing land titles.
He said these coupled with high standards of living will technically knock the poor out of the area and leave the government and the rich in full control of the resources.
He, however, says his group has teamed up to support each other to ensure that the local people get land titles. He said the only hope for the local communities to fight land grabbing is having land titles.
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