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Kabolwa Oil Pipeline Disputed Land Chronology Of Events

 Introduction 

Kabolwa is a village located in Buliisa District in Western Uganda. In early 2020, several community persons were affected by the oil feeder pipeline project and there were contestations about compensation for their land and other project-related grievances. Uganda Consortium on Corporate Accountability (UCCA) working together with its members in the region – BIRUDO supported these communities and engaged the various stakeholders to ensure the Project Affected Persons(PAPs) obtained compensation for their land. 

Below is a chronology of the various engagements and interventions to support the Kabolwa PAPs to get remedy; 

Chronology of Events 

9th Jan 2020: BIRUDO received a complaint from 11 Kabolwa oil feeder pipeline project affected persons (PAPs) that Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor want to compensate them as land users, not as land owners, which they refused. 

13th Jan 2020: BIRUDO engaged Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor over the complaint registered by 11 Kabolwa oil feeder pipeline project affected persons (PAPs). The reason advanced by Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor is that the Buliisa Sub-county local government claimed the ownership of the affected land and they provided BIRUDO with the claim letter from Buliisa Sub-county local government. 

22nd Jan 2020: BIRUDO organized a feedback meeting to report to Kabolwa PAPs, on the outcome of BIRUDO’s engagement with Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor. 

12th Feb 2020: BIRUDO held a meeting with Buliisa Sub-county local government Chief and Chairperson Local Council III to understand their claim over the oil feeder pipeline affected land in Kabolwa village.2 

19th Mar 2020: As BIRUDO planned to have a dialogue between Buliisa Sub-county local government and 11 PAPs, Uganda came under total lockdown because of COVID-19. 

3rd. Aug to 12th Oct 2021: BIRUDO engaged Buliisa Sub County local government and 11 PAPs in a number of dialogues, of which Buliisa Sub County local government withdrew their interest over the ownership of the affected land in Kabolwa village. The Buliisa Sub-county local government wrote a letter to Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor informing them of the withdrawal of their land ownership interest and asked Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor to compensate Kabolwa PAPs as the landowners. 

10th Mar 2022: BIRUDO organized a roundtable meeting to update the Buliisa district local government, security officials, CSOs, and oil companies on the milestones BIRUDO has so far made and the challenges facing in implementing the program on land rights and access to justice. One of the challenges was Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor refusing to compensate Kabolwa PAPs, despite Buliisa Sub-county local government writing a letter to them informing them of the withdrawal of their land ownership interest and asking them to compensate Kabolwa PAPs as the landowners. Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor informed participants that there are more claimants over the affected land in Kabolwa village. 

12th May 2022: BIRUDO wrote a letter to the general manager of Total Energies requesting other claimants on the affected land in Kabolwa so that BIRUDO and other stakeholders engage them to resolve the disputes. 

27th May 2022: General Manager Total Energies provided BIRUDO with nineteen (19) names of other claimants including two land titles and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom. 

27th Sept 2022: BIRUDO and UCCA conducted a background check to find out if these 19 claimants provided by general manager Total Energies had any land disputes with the 11 PAPs who complained to BIRUDO. During the background check, 19 claimants informed BIRUDO that they had no land disputes with the 11 PAPs and they did not register any complaints with Total Energies and Atacama sub-contractor. On the two land titles and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, PAPs said they were not aware of those land titles and the way the land titles were got. On kingdom, PAPs said the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom has no land in Kabolwa village. 

27th Oct 2022: BIRUDO and UCCA organized a feedback meeting on background checks for Total Energies, Atacama, Petroleum Authority of Uganda, Ministries, and CSO officials in Kampala in the boardroom of Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER). 3 

27th Nov 2022: BIRUDO and UCCA held an interface meeting with PAPs and other stakeholders at Buliisa district resource centre. This was to update PAPs and other stakeholders on the background check and come up with a way forward. During this meeting, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC) presented a list of more than 60 PAPs from Kabolwa village claiming that Total Energies and Atacama want to compensate them as the land users, when they are the rightful owners of the land. Thereafter, participants resolved that BIRUDO needed to organize a physical mapping of landowners in affected land in Kabolwa Village.4 

8th Dec 2022: BIRUDO and ULS organized a locus visit on the disputed land in Kabolwa with the aim of conducting land owners mapping but it did not take place, because most of the stakeholders turned up late. it was therefore postponed to January 2023. 

23rd to 27th Jan 2023: BIRUDO, Buliisa District Local Government, security officials, Total Energies, Atacama, Petroleum Authority of Uganda, and Ministries conducted land owners mapping. Of which 49 landowners were mapped as PAPs affected. 

10th Mar 2023: BIRUDO held a feedback meeting in Kabolwa Village to disclose the outcome of the landowners’ mapping. Whereby 18 PAPs were disclosed to have no other claimants on their land. In addition, the 18 PAPs were handed over to Total Energies and Atacama for compensation as landowners. 31 PAPs had claims on two land titles of Registered Proprietor of Plot 12, Block 2 Bujenje (Wendi James) and Plot 13, Block 2, Bujenje (Mukitale Robert Muhemba). And the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom claimed ownership of the same land. 

16th Mar 2023: BIRUDO wrote a letter to the general manager of Total Energies requesting him to provide BIRUDO with the copies of the land titles provided to him by Registered Proprietor of Plot 12, Block 2 Bujenje (Wendi James) and Plot 13, Block 2, Bujenje (Mukitale Robert Muhemba). This was to enable Kabolwa PAPs to petition the High Court of Uganda to cancel the land title. 

24th Mar 2023: BIRUDO organized an interface meeting between Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom and Kabolwa PAPs. The meeting was to enable the stakeholders involved in resolving the land dispute to understand who really owns the land and advise accordingly. But Bunyoro Kingdom did not turn up for the meeting. 

13th to 14th Jul 2023: BIRUDO, Total Energies, Atacama, Petroleum Authority of Uganda, and Ministries held a meeting with Kabolwa PAPs to give them feedback on land titles and Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom. On registered Proprietor of Plot 12, Block 2 Bujenje (Wendi James) PAU informed PAPs that he does not have the title but he has just made an application. It is only Plot 13, Block 2, Bujenje (Mukitale Robert Muhemba) that has a land title. On the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, PAU informed PAPs that Uganda has taken the matter and it will be handled in Kampala. No Kingdom person should come and disturb the PAPs in Kabolwa that they own land in Kabolwa. PAPs agreed to have MoUs with the government and oil company to pay them on 5 other properties and land will be compensated once the dispute is resolved. The MoUs will also allow the government and the oil company to go on work their work. 

17th Jul 2023: BIRUDO supported Kabolwa PAPs who wrote to the senior registrar of titles at Masindi Zonal Office seeking cancellation of the Proprietor of Plot 12, Block 2 Bujenje (Wendi James) application. 

21st Aug 2023: Commissioner Land Registration wrote to Plot 13, Block 2, Bujenje (Mukitale Robert Muhemba) and other titles owners for a public hearing before Mrs. Namambwe Sharon Christine, senior registrar of titles on 26th September 2023 at Masindi Zonal Office. This was when the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development sought cancellation of the certificate of titles having been issued post-gazettement of the land acquisition (Tilenga Project) Statutory Instrument No. 46 of 2018 which led to the subsequent statutory instrument No. 9 of 2019. 

6th Sept 2023: BIRUDO supported Kabolwa PAPs who wrote to the senior registrar of titles at Masindi Zonal Office requesting to be part of the public hearing before Mrs. Namambwe Sharon Christine, senior registrar of titles on 26th September 2023 at Masindi Zonal Office, since they have interest too over the said land. In addition, they are the owners of the land in Kabolwa and were not aware of the said title. 

26th Sept 2023: Kabolwa PAPs, Total Energies, Atacama, Petroleum Authority of Uganda, and Ministries participated in the public hearing but Plot 13, Block 2, Bujenje (Mukitale Robert Muhemba) did not turn up for the public hearing. However, the senior registrar of titles promised to hold a meeting with the Kabolwa PAPs and the title owner. 

17th Nov 2023: Kabolwa PAPs held a meeting with BIRUDO on how they can challenge Plot 13, Block 2, Bujenje (Mukitale Robert Muhemba) certificate of title in the High Court of Uganda.