In Uganda, land grabbed by local land brokers are immediately handed over to foreign companies, which then often grow the same crops as the villagers were growing before they were evicted.
With the pandemic striking higher in Uganda, poor families continue to be forced off their land by their government and investors despite several directives halting evictions during the COVID period.
An open letter has been sent to the AfDB and Nordic Development Fund, calling on them to take immediate action to address reprisals against a community in Uganda impacted by the Wadelai irrigation project.
Uganda's Non-Governmental Organization Bureau has suspended 54 organizations for alleged 'non-compliance', including Witness-Radio, which has been defending several communities whose lands have been grabbed by foreign agribusinesses.
As natives continue to resist illegal evictions, multinational companies opt to hire livestock as a new tactic to forcefully evict smallholder farmers from their land.
The stolen land belonged to families that are part of the 35000 people being forcefully displaced by three multinational companies including Great Seasons SMC Limited, Agilis Partners Limited, and Kiryandongo Sugar Limited.
Opondo Cathy says agents of the multinational agribusiness company Agilis Partners took advantage of the last lockdown to rape her, torch her house and grab her land.
"La situation s'aggrave alors que les populations de districts entiers sont déplacées de force de leurs terres", indique un rapport du Denis Hurley Peace Institute
"Las élites ricas violan los derechos de los pobres al quedarse con sus tierras. El gobierno no hace nada al respecto. Por el contrario, promueve estas actividades"
A community land rights defender who was kidnapped from his home and tortured by Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers guarding Kiryandongo Sugar Limited has been arraigned before a magistrate court in Kiryandongo district and charged with threatening violence.
