TC IN

TEXT

00:00:07

I have a right to this land because, ever since I can remember, since childhood, I have lived on this land.

00:00:16

In Uganda, the government has leased over 8 000 hectares of land to a Norwegian company.

00:00:22

I am not at peace

00:00:25

because of the sadness in my hear at being chased away from the land where I was born.

00:00:30

They are re-foresting, producing wood for export, and they say they bring environmental benefits.

00:00:36

I grew up very well because my father was alive and we could get everywhere we wanted

00:00:41

before this company came.

00:00:45

Thousands of rural people have lost their rights to the land they have farmed for years.

00:00:53

I am stranded. I am crying out for help, as you can see.

00:01:01

Green: at what price?

00:01:11

We are actually growing for different reasons

00:01:14:00

Teddy Nsamba.
Envirtonmental, Social and Governance Director
Green Resources, Uganda

One is economical that, yes, we have to get value out of these trees and meet the demand of wood products in our own country.

00:01:24

And then, two is conservation of these natural areas.

00:01:28

As the government’s goal to re-forest they bring in companies like Green Resources to do their reforestation.

00:01:35

We have come and found these places deforested or degraded. And what we see over time is more restored environment than when we actually found it.

00:01:48

No, no, no, no, no, no.

00:01:49

David Kureeba
Friends of the Earth, Uganda

00:01:49

That one should be out. That thing, saying that Green Resources is protecting environment is completely out.

00:01:56

People depend on environment. People grow fruit. People breed the animals. People get their fire from environment. People get to build their house with grass from environment. People get medicine herbs from environment. Everything is got from environment which is within their periphery.

00:02:11

I

Life

00:02:17

Bukaleba is a forest reserve on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is home to over 10,000 people.

00:02:26:

I’m called Ongon Alphonse. Here in the committee I work as a Chairman.

00:02:31

I’ve sat here, I’ve walked here for about twenty years before the forest.

Living here… The life was good because they were getting jobs, salary was being paid enough money. So, the life was okay.

00:02:47

(subtitle)
I was born here in 1972.

00:02:49

(subtitle)

The government at that time gave out land to people.

00:02:53

Jessica Nait

(subtitle)

Many people bought land in the forest and my dad bought land near the lake.

00:02:58

(subtitle)

We cultivated all sorts of food – on one side bananas and on the other side cassava.

00:03:06

We had around four hectares,

00:03:10

a lot of land.

00:03:13

We have been here for 34 years.

00:03:16

Olga Akello

(subtitle)

When we first arrived here, life was relatively comfortable.

00:03:21

(subtitle)

My husband was receiving his salary.

00:03:26

(subtitle)

We were farming and harvesting enough food, but those things are no more.

00:03:32

(subtitle)

We were left to farm on the hill, but even there they have planted trees.

00:03:38

But food here in Bukaleba, most people they just eat lunch but no supper.

00:03:44

One, by chance today you’ve got something to eat, you eat.

When there is no food you just sleep like that.

00:03:51

(subtitle)

Now, we live a difficult life. We don’t get any money or food.

00:03:58

(subtitle)

We have become beggars. We live by God’s help.

00:04:06

The primary factor to consider for us would be the communities. Communities will take the president on the environment.

00:04:13

As long as you are planting trees and displacing people as Friends of the Earth we will not support that. Definitely not.

00:04:20

Because it means you’re actually killing people indirectly. As long as people don’t have food and as long as people don’t have clean water, you know, as long as people are not living in a clean environment, then they are as good as dead.

00:04:34

And the environment is as good as dead.

00:04:41

Who really dives into the positive side that people have benefitted from the existence of Green Resources in Bukaleba.

00:04:49

We have worked on the roads in the estate and around the estate.

00:04:54

99% of our labor is coming from the communities that gives a livelihood for these communities

00:05:01

Now for someone to say: no, Green Resources are just destroying these communities, they are not befitting those communities… No, we are.

00:05:10

II

Loss

00:05:17

This is a protected forest reserve, but many people were brought here to work by Idi Amin’s government in the 1970s.

00:05:23

People have lived here for decades, but have no legal documentation for the land.

00:05:29

For them, they say that this is a forest. So, no one is allowed to build here permanent houses. That’s why we are building these huts.

00:05:37

In the daytime it is okay. But in the nighttime, when there is rain, we don’t, we don’t sleep even. It leek.

00:05:47

Now the company, they even have spread the grasses. We don’t have even grasses for construction more houses.

00:05:54

If we have to compare the shelter that they have for any minimum standard, we would say: yes, they are below the standard. And one would say: why doesn’t Green Resources support these people?

00:06:13

But what we have to notice that those communities in the reserve, they are illegal settlements. So, we have got no obligation as an organization to be meeting their needs.

00:06:25

You talk about health facility. If we do support a health facility in the forest reserve, then we have said: you are legally supposed to be there.

00:06:37

So, we cannot indulge ourselves in activities that are illegal even when the community is saying this is what we need.

00:06:48

We are not here illegally because when it’s voting time they brought here a polling station. When we are illegally why do we vote for the government?

00:06:57

Our school here is being headed by the government headmaster. They are being paid. If we are illegally why do they pay them?

00:07:04

(subtitle)

If Green Resources say we are here illegally then they are wrong.

00:07:11

James Maaka

(subtitle)

If we were here illegally, they wouldn’t have allowed us to stay here all these years.

00:07:17

They found us here.

00:07:20

Under Ugandan law, people who have lived on land for many years have rights to that land.

00:07:28

Many rural people lack knowledge of the laws which protect their rights.

00:07:35

Kampala

Capital, Uganda

00:07:39

Customary Tenure is about 65% of the land in Uganda.

00:07:43

Actually, here you will see that the land belongs to the dead, the living and those who are not, yet, born.

00:07:50

It is the job of the land administrators to make sure that they protect and record the interests of those people. But usually where you have foreign companies coming in, it means that probably this land was taken by the controlling authorities to assume that it is not titled, it is not surveyed, it belongs to nobody.

00:08:18

In the 1980s, the government’s National Forest Authority began evicting communities in preparation for leasing land to investors.

00:08:26

Since the land was leased to Green Resources in 1996, the level of conflict has escalated.

00:08:32

(subtitle)

Evictions started around 1989 but intensified in the 1990s.

00:08:40

(subtitle)

What I saw… they brought a truck full of soldiers to chase people away from the forest.

00:08:48

(subtitle)

They were shooting, people were running, and they burned down houses.

00:08:54

(subtitle)

If they found you with children or property they would throw them outside and set the houses on fire.

00:09:02

There was a message from the company saying that, “You people, you are staying here illegally and we are going to bring forces to beat you, then you leave the area.”

00:09:12

As we have nowhere to go, we remain.

00:09:16

We have not done any evictions, I have to affirm that. And I don’t know who is informing your story but all evictions have been done by the NFA.

00:09:29

In Bukaleba, yes, we have had those fights between ourselves: so, you are not going to grow your crops here. But it’s constant talking, it’s constant taking of actions and people are not happy with that. So, they always say, “yes, we’ve been chased.” But it’s not an eviction, you know… Get out! And it’s a fight. No.

00:09:48

National Forest Authority statement:

“NFA did carry out eviction of encroachers in Bukaleba Peninsular, a part of Bukaleba Central Forest Reserve.

NFA as a matter of procedure conducts community sensitization before people are removed from forest reserves. This is to help them make informed choices including voluntary evacuation. Only after that has failed, is there recourse to evictions.”

00:10:10

(subtitle)

The first NFA officers were good people, but the ones who followed used force.

00:10:15

(subtitle)

The district officer had said that we could farm on the NFA land.

00:10:22

(subtitle)

They found us in the garden, I was digging with my children.

00:10:25

(subtitle)

They grabbed Father first, beat him and caned me.

00:10:29

Muwanguzi Maaka

(subtitle)

I was caned repeatedly.

00:10:32

(subtitle)

I was cut and blood started gushing out.

00:10:35

Elisa Mwesigwa

(subtitle)

They were over 50 people who surrounded us,

00:10:39

(subtitle)

I ran into the lake and stayed still.

00:10:42

(subtitle)

I could not even go back to protect my brother, because they had machetes and canes and could have beaten me too.

00:10:48

(subtitle)

So to save my life I remained there.

00:10:50

(subtitle)

We were imprisoned.

00:10:52

(subtitle)

They alleged that we had cut down trees.

00:10:55

(subtitle)

That was not true, we didn’t cut down any trees.

00:10:58

(subtitle)

The sentence was one year in prison for both my father and I, or we had to pay a fine, so we paid the money.

00:11:09

(subtitle)

Since Green Resources came here, we have never had peace because of the way they operate.

00:11:18

Land conflicts are known to have that angle of becoming violent. I know there is that challenge of individuals in the law enforcement agencies that do carry out such activities. But it is wrong and I know that these law enforcement agencies do not condone it.

00:11:41

(subtitle)

We kept asking ourselves: this is our land, they are asking us to vacate, where would we go?

00:11:46

We have children, our parents are buried here, we have grown up here

00:11:49

We wanted to remain and continue working but the trees have taken away all our peace.

00:11:54

Now, what exactly happened…

00:11:56

Ikoba Isa Salongo

(subtitle)

We were told, whilst we were there weeding maize,

00:12:00

(subtitle)

some men had encroached on us to plant their trees.

00:12:03

(subtitle)

So, we approached them and told them, “what you are doing is not right.

00:12:07

(subtitle)

This is not a forest. Your forest is there, this is our land.”

00:12:11

(subtitle)

They used excessive force.

00:12:13

(subtitle)

They started with me,

00:12:16

(subtitle)

saying, “You are the ones preventing us from planting trees here.

00:12:17

(subtitle)

We told you a long time ago that this is a government forest.

00:12:20

(subtitle)

You must leave.”

00:12:22

(subtitle)

Immediately, they caned me and pushed me on to the truck.

00:12:25

(subtitle)

We were sentenced to one year in prison.

00:12:27

(subtitle)

From the year I was arrested, my family disintegrated.

00:12:31

(subtitle)

Even my wife left.

00:12:32

(subtitle)

She left me with the children.

00:12:35

(subtitle)

All the problems emanate from our land here.

00:12:40

So, Mr. Forbo, let me ask you if what you’re saying is that community have the rights to that land because they were there, should Green Resources have been given that lease?

00:12:48

Well, I cannot say yes, I cannot say no. But what I can say is when they remain within this land that they are not utilising fully, someone comes and sees that the land is unutilised, idle land, as they call it, then other issues come as well. Well, why can’t you give that land to an investor to lease and use it productively?

00:13:16

If they were using that land productively, I bet you no one would have taken it from them. Do they think so?

00:13:23

We don’t have land tenure here but we only have a written letter from the President about the 500 hectares. That is the letter we have.

00:13:38

III

The Promised Land

00:13:42

Six years ago, the Ugandan government promised to formally allocate 500 hectares of the leased land to the communities.

00:13:49

It was the 4^th February 2011.

Following public outcry regarding the unfair privatization of their land, I give a directive as follow. Bulakeba Central Forest Reserve land made of 500 hectares should be given to the local community. I am informed that the said land is clearly demarcated. Signed, Yoweri Museveni, President.

00:14:24

I was among the people who went to demarcate the land with the surveyors. They came here, we moved with them together that this land is given to you by your President. We all clapped our hand.

00:14:39

After some time, company went there and plant their trees. It was not being demarcated well. So, we are just here stranded.

00:14:56

The promised land is there. It’s marked but it is not our mandate to give out that land. We are also tenants. We pay license fees to the government. It’s government to come out to voice their commitment, to say: this is 500 hectares and we are giving it to the community. This is how you are going to use it. This is who is going to benefit. Now those details is a mandate for the government, not for us, not for Green Resources.

00:15:28

We are not blaming the company because the company, they are being brought by government. So, we are requesting, if possible, government to look for us where we can survive, we can get a good life with our children.

00:15:42

We want to stay at the forest because we have nowhere to go.

00:15:48

Conclusive evidence of ownership of land is proved by either holding a customer certificate of ownership or a certificate of title, not in a letter, even if it is from a person in government. That letter, yes, helps you move to the next offices to facilitate and request legal papers that will ultimately prove your ownership on that land.

00:16:12

And, I think, it’s something which the communities have not explored because they don’t know.

00:16:17

I think framed, they’ve also been treated quite violently each time they try to do anything. They’ve been evicted, they’ve been injured. How do you protect the community with very little money but also are scared because of the way they have been treated.

00:16:31

Yes, but you know, ultimately, if a title has been issued, a lease or a title, for someone to plant trees on that land, then ultimately a decision of cancellation can only come from courts of law.

00:16:49

It’s a ticking time bomb because the population continues to grow and if we keep dilly-dallying about the matter and not taking decisions then, yes, that’s when it becomes a time bomb. The different generations are being told: government is coming up with a decision.

00:17:06

The NFA says, “the matter of the 500 hectares is before the Cabinet of Uganda, pending guidance.”

00:17:20

(subtitle)

My hope is that God helps us find people who can help us have a small piece of land so we can find somewhere to farm.

00:17:33

(subtitle)

When we own land, we can educate our children and ourselves.

00:17:37

(subtitle)

With land we can develop.

00:17:40

(subtitle)

Of course, land is important to me.

00:17:44

(subtitle)

It’s our lifeline. Out of it we get food.

00:17:49

(subtitle)

If they could give us some land, that would solve a lot of problems.

00:17:54

(subtitle)

If I had a title, it would be a good thing, because I would have authority and security.

00:18:03

(subtitle)

I would also know that I have a home, my home.

00:18:09

50 million hectares of land have been leased to foreign entities in Africa.

00:18:15

90% of rural land remains untitled.

00:18:24

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR

Nicky Milne

00:18:27:00

EDITOR

Timothy Moss

CAMERA

Benj Binks

00:18:30:00

WITH THANKS TO

Oakland Institute

Friends of the Earth Uganda

Namati

Green Resources

Government of Uganda

00:18:33:00

RESEARCH

Aurélie Marrier d’Unienville

Aldon Walukamba

David Ssemwogerere

00:18:37:00

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Liz Mermin

PLACE EDITOR

Paula Totaro

THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Belinda Goldsmith

00:18:40:00

THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION.