Government should come to our rescue- EACOP affected mother of seven cries out after losing her Land for nothing

Friday, June 20th, 2025 | By

A 48-year-old Nyambubi Mary a resident of Kitegwa B in Kabaale Parish Buseruka Sub County in Hoima district struggles to support her seven children.

Nyambubi, whose land was acquired for the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in 2023, says the land acquisition process has been marred by poor communication and inadequate compensation.

She says the affected households are much worse off than before. She says that they are still awaiting the adequate compensation promised by pipe line Authorities in the various meetings they attended.

Nyambubi described pressure and intimidation by officials from the company and its subcontractors to agree to low levels of compensation that was inadequate to buy replacement land.

“Most of us in the EACOP pipeline corridor we are illiterate. We are not aware of the terms of the agreements that we signed and to those who refused signing have  faced constant pressure from company officials, threats of court action and harassment from local government and security officials,” said Nyambubi.

She added that they were not being offered the option of replacement land and instead were coerced to accept cash compensations that were below the cost to replace land.

Nyambubi, who did sign, says the compensation amounts received are far below what they need to purchase replacement lands.

“Those families, who have purchased replacement land with their compensation, have typically bought less land, with poorer soil quality, located far away, and with land costs steadily increasing in many of the areas of proposed oil development, partly due to land speculation,” Nyambubi stated.

However, she says lack of replacement land and inadequate compensations have left many families poorer and unsure about the future.

Nyambubi described being largely self-sufficient before the oil projects began, using revenue from coffee, bananas, and other cash crops to pay for school fees and other household expenses.

In an interview with Community Green Radio, Nyambubi narrated how the inadequate compensation has impacted their food security. She says community members have to buy food to feed their families. This has required some of them to sell household assets, including livestock, or borrowing from predatory lenders at excessive interest rates.

Rajab Bwengye, the coordinator of projects at National Association of Professional Environmentalists – NAPE and the Community Green radio asked the community to utilize the radio to amplify their voices and support them in holding the leaders accountable.