In their defense, filed through their lawyer Peter Alinaitwe, some PAPs have asked the court to order the project implementers to revise the pipeline's structural design to avoid their properties if the government cannot meet their compensation demands.
Crude oil pipes being laid. EACOP pipeline will be the longest heated Crude oil pipeline in the world. It is one of the key projects for commercailisation
Some of the individuals sued for rejecting compensation for their properties on the route of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) are demanding alterations to the project pathway to protect their assets. Last week, the government sued 80 people from Lwengo, Kyotera, and Rakai districts for attempting to frustrate the construction activities of the oil pipeline after they declined the monetary compensation offered for their affected properties.
The government, through the Attorney General, filed an application with the Masaka High Court to compulsorily acquire land from the resisting Project Affected Persons (PAPs) to allow the project to progress while the compensation dispute is resolved. In their defense, filed through their lawyer Peter Alinaitwe, some PAPs have asked the court to order the project implementers to revise the pipeline's structural design to avoid their properties if the government cannot meet their compensation demands.
The PAPs argue that the government valuation teams were unfair during the property evaluation process, allocating insufficient fees that do not reflect the value of their assets. They have challenged the government’s request to deposit the compensation money in court and grant eviction and demolition orders against them, arguing that such orders violate their rights to property and the principle of prompt and adequate compensation for private properties the government intends to use.
Eleneo Mujuga, a PAP living in Kabonera village, Kakuuto sub-county in Kyotera, indicates that the government offered him 1.2 million shillings in 2019 for his plot of land, which he had bought for 1.75 million shillings five years earlier. He argues that despite presenting a purchase agreement to the evaluation teams, his submissions were disregarded, even after a reevaluation in 2021. Mujuga is prepared to forgo compensation and continue using his property if the government can change the pipeline route to avoid his land.
Veronica Nakavuma, another PAP from Lukama village in Kakuuto sub-county, Kyotera, argues that the project will take away her inherited 2.3-acre piece of land, which will affect her family's survival for generations. She has asked the court to instruct the government to avoid her land if it cannot afford the value she demands, which is at least 150 million Shillings.
//Cue in: “kubanga tulina abaana…
Cue out: “...bigenda kuggwawo.”//
Peter Alinaitwe, the PAPs' lawyer, contends that the government aims to coerce his clients into accepting insufficient compensation. He has requested the court dismiss the government’s application and order a reevaluation of the properties of the affected persons to address their concerns before the project begins. Meanwhile, Lawrence Tweyanze, the Masaka High Court Senior Resident Judge, has given both parties until the 20th of this month to file their written counter-submissions, with a ruling set for the 27th.
