The discovery of oil in the greater Albertine region initially sparked optimism, but the sentiment swiftly faded for over a thousand residents across seven villages in Hoima District. These villages, including Runga, Waaki North, Waaki South, Rukola, Kiryatete, Kapaapi North, Kapaapi South, and Kapaapi Central in Kapaapi Parish, formerly known as Kigolobya, were home to diverse tribes comprising Bagungu, Banyoro, Alur, Madi, Baganda, Banyankore, Bakiga, Lugbara, and Banyarwanda, occupying approximately 2,500 hectares of land.
Until the tragic events of February 2023, residents peacefully coexisted as customary tenants, engaging in cattle rearing and crop farming for domestic and commercial use. However, with the emergence of oil exploration activities in the late 90s and early 2000s, it became evident that major oil fields such as Kingfisher and Tilenga, along with the East African Crude Oil Pipeline project by Total, would either be situated within these villages or traverse through them.
During surveys conducted by Total Energies Ltd, assurances were given to residents that the pipeline would pass through their land, and their names were listed down, valuation done with promises of compensation before project commencement. However, suspicion and anxiety began to grip the residents as unfamiliar individuals, some accompanied by machinery and armed soldiers, began to encroach upon their land.
Confirming the long-held suspicions of the residents, in mid-2022, three men named Asiimwe Moses Byangyire, Gafayo William Ndahura, and Aston Muhwezi emerged, claiming ownership of the land where the seven villages are situated. Asiimwe Moses asserted his connection as the son of Tito Byangire Rutalekyere, the registered leasehold owner of part of the land designated as LRV 1664 Folio 3 Plot 38 Block 9 Land at Bugahya, measuring approximately 921 hectares and predominantly occupied by crop farmers. Conversely, Gafayo William Ndahura claimed ownership of a freehold land described as Freehold FRV 507, Folio 11 Plot 9, Block 1 Land at Bugahya, measuring approximately 1003 hectares, mainly occupied by cattle pastoralists.
These claimants not only asserted their ownership but also demanded the immediate evacuation of all residents from the seven villages to facilitate their proposed developments, plunging the inhabitants into further panic and distress. Tensions escalated when Asiimwe Moses Byangire alleged that he had sold his late father’s land to Brigadier Peter Akankunda Nabasa, who was then the Deputy Commander of the 1st Division of the UPDF.
In response to these threats, the residents mobilized and petitioned various authorities, prompting the intervention of the then RDC Hoima, who halted the claimants from executing any evictions without providing compensation. The RDC instructed that a survey of the land occupied by the pastoral community be conducted to authenticate the claims and determine which residents fell within that area.
The Report continues in Part II