THEREPUBLI

COFUGANDA

I
NTHEHI
GHCOURTOFUGANDAATKAMPALA

(
CIVI
LDI
VISI
ON)

MI
SCELLANEOUSCAUSENO.127OF2016

1.MUHI
NDOJAMES
2.MUHUMUMARTI
NE
3.TOPOTHCHARLES
4.KI
BERUALI :
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::APPLI
CANTS
VERSUS

ATTORNEYGENERAL:
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:RESPONDENT

BEFOREHON.JUSTI
CESSEKAANAMUSA

RULI
NG

Theappli
cant
sf i
l
edanappli
cat
ionf
orEnf
orcementofr
ight
sseeki
ngt
he
fol
l
owingdecl
arat
oryor
der
s;

a)A decl
arati
on t
hattheabsenceofadequat eproceduregoverni
ng
evi
cti
onsisaviol
ati
onofther
ighttol
if
e,r
ighttodigni
tyandproper
ty,
underAr
ticl
es22,24and26ofthe1995Consti
tut
ionofUganda;

b)Adecl arati
ont hatthedel ay,refusalorfail
ureoft heGov ernmentof
Ugandat oputinplaceclearandadequat eprocedur almechanismst o
ensurer espectandprotect i
onf orhumanr ightsnor msandst andards
before, duringandafterlandev icti
onandr esett
lementact i
vit
iesisin
contraventionoft hecorest ateobligat
ionst or espect
,protectand
ful
filtherightsundertheCov enantonEconomi c,SocialandCul tural
ri
ghts;

1
 c)An Order compell
i
ng t he Gover
nment of Uganda to devel
op
comprehensi
vegui
deli
nesgover
ninglandev
ict
ionsbef
ore,
dur
ingand
aft
ert
hef act
.

d)ThatCost
sbepr
ovi
dedf
or.

Themai
ngr
oundsuponwhi
cht
hisappl
i
cat
ioni
spr
emi
sedar
ethat
;

1.That21 y earsaf t
ert hepr omul gati
onoft heUgandaConst i
tut
ion
(1995)and18y earsaf tertheenact mentoft heLandAct( 1998)t he
Gov er
nmentofUgandahasunj ustif
iablyfai
led,ignored,neglect
edor
otherwise r
efused to puti n place clearmeasur es orpr ocedures
consist
entwi t
ht heConst it
ut ionandUni versall
yaccept ednor msand
standardsforther egulati
onofev i
ctionandr esettl
ementofper sons
affect
edbydev elopmentpr oj ects;

2.Thatt heacti
ons/ omissi
onsoft heGov er
nmenti nfai
lur
et oputi n
placeproperproceduralandinst
it
uti
onalmechanismsgoverningland
evicti
onshasabet tedthepreval
enceofhumanr i
ghtsviol
ati
onssuch
asl ossofproper ty,i
nhumananddegr adingtr
eatmentandl ossof
meansofl i
veli
hood, causedbydevel
opmentinduceddispl
acementof
personsacrosst hecountrycontr
arytotheArt
icl
es22,24and26of
the1995Const i
tution.

3.Thatt heI nt
ernati
onalHumanRi ghtsinst
rument sincl
udi
nginterali
a
theI nter
nationalCovenantonCi vi
landPol i
ticalr
ights(I
CCPR)and
Internati
onalCov enanton Economi c,Socialand Cul tur
alRights
(ICESCR)t owhi chUgandaissignator
y,enjoi
ngov ernmentwit
hthree
cor eobligat
ions;thedutytorespect,toprotectandt oful
fi
lhuman

2
 r
ight
sofper
sons;
and

4.Thatinthei
nter
estoffoster
ingHumanRi ghts,andtheConsti
tut
ional
vi
sionofasoci oeconomicandpol i
ti
calorderbasedont hebil
lof
ri
ghts,soci
aljustice and progr
ess that the court al
l
ows t hi
s
appli
cat
ionandgrantstheor
derssought.

Thisappl
icati
onwassuppor tedbysev eralaf
fi
davit
sbutthemostrelev
ant
oneswer et hoseofLat im Al
ex,Topot h Char
les,Kiber
u Ali
,DrZahara
NampewoofHURI PEC,JosephNser ekoandDav idSsempala.Thesum
eff
ectofal ltheaf f
idavi
tsi
st hattherearegrossv i
olat
ionsofri
ghtsin
Ugandaar i
singf r
om f or
cef
ulev i
cti
onsi nUgandaf r
om bothPubli
cand
pri
vat
elandsi nce1970.

KIBERUALI( 4th Appl

i
cant)st
atedthatheboughtl
andinMbuy af
rom Yusuf
Sentogoin2009andt ookpossessi
onofthesameandconst r
uct
edthereon
hi
s house.Uganda Rai lways needed l
and fordevel
opmentand t hus
surveyeditandt hatheawait
edcompensat i
on.Nodevel
opmenttookplace
unti
l 2014whenanev i
cti
onnoticewaspubl
ishedi
npapers.

Howev er
,KCCAdemoli
shedhousesofcommuni tymembersincl
udi
ngthat
ofthe4th Appl
canton26th Jul
i y2016about11: 00pm.Peopl
ewerenot
al
lowedt i
met osavethei
rpropert
yandt heli
tt
letheysavedwasstol
en.
Thattherewasindi
scr
iminat
euseoft eargas,whichledt
olossofsome
l
ives.

Thatt heyapplied f
orand goti nteri
m orders whi
ch were disregar
ded;
mediationyi
eldednoresul
ts;todatenodateisfi
xedtoheartheircase.That
hehassuf fer
edl ossofearningsanddescenti ncome;dependent sri
ghts
have been violat
ed,famili
es have been scatt
ered as a resul
toft he
displ
acementofpeopl e and causing soci
alinsecuri
ty.A schoolwas
demolishedandt hecommuni tyhasbeendeniedaccesst oeducationasa
resul
t.

LATIM ALEX–statedt
hathispar
entstookoccupancyoflandl
ocatedin
Rwamutonga vi
ll
age,Kat
anga Pari
sh in Bugambe Sub-
count
y ,Hoi
ma
Dist
ri
ctin1968aft
eraMulukaChi
efandaMut ongol
echi
efgavethem l
and
3
forpur
poseofcot
tongr
owi
ng.Af
tert
heAsi
ansl
eft
,theyoccupi
edt
hel
and
peacef
ull
y.

In1977,aoneTi bagwaJoshuaappr oachedhi sparentsrequest

ingtobe
all
owedt ograzecattl
ewithafeederpathcreatedasboundar ybet
weent he
porti
onsofTi bagwat owardsRiverRwamutonga.Var i
ouspeoplesettl
edon
thelandt ooandbui l
tbothpermanentandsemiper manenthouses.That
McAl esteranAmer icancompanycamel ookingforti
tledlandamounti
ngt o
2000 acr es,Tibagwa who owned onl y 300 acres opened boundaries
extending to otherpeoples’land.A case oft respass was report
ed;
poli
tici
ansintervenedandthetwoparti
esent er
edintoaConsentJudgment .

On25thAugust2014at6am gunshot swer eheard,Tibagwainpresenceof

RDC,Pol i
ceandAr myev i
ctedwhol ev i
ll
agesleadingt olossofpr oper
ty,
ov er200 people were aff
ect ed.People were beat en,l
ives werelost,
peopl e’
sli
veli
hoodswereaffectedandturnedtodisplacedpersonsli
vingon
reliefandincamps;chi
ldr
enst oppedgoingtoschool ,
accesst oheal
thcare,
cleanwat erandfoodhavebeenaf fect
edasar esult
.

TOPOTHCHARLES- 3rdApplicantstat
est hatLandevictionsi nKaramojaar e
histor
ic.In1983, UgandaNat i
onalLi
berationArmy( UNLA)di spl
acedmany
people;in2013,anI nv estorJanMagal&Co.Lt dcamewi thanexpl or
ation
l
icensef rom Mi ni
stryofEner gyandMi neral
sandst artedexcav ati
onsi n
Lotongirsite.Whenpeopl edemonst r
ated, JanMagal&Co.wi ththehelpof
UPDF per sonnelfenced of f63 squar e kil
ometers atLopet akwang i n
Nakabatwher emanypeopl ewer edisplaced,theyinstalledhighpr essure
pumpsf ormi ni
ngleav i
ngmassi vedrainageofr i
ver
saf fectingli
veli
hoodsof
people,localsdeniedofempl oyment;miningwasst oppedi n2015butt he
placeisstillguar
dedbyt hearmy .

Thathi sf amilyand clan were evict

ed and neverall
owed to plan f
or
mov ementoff amil
ies t
hus causing the f
ami l
yt o be di
splaced and
scattered,lossofl and,genderconcernsofgirl
sdr oppi
ngoutofschool s;
breakageoff amilyti
esandsocialfabri
cofcommuni ti
estookpl
acel eadi
ng
topsy chologicaltr
aumaandt odatenoonehasbeencompensat ed.

4
Theot herwi t
nessesal soacknowl edget hatt her eist heNat ionalLand
policywhoseobj ect i
vesar et o st r
eaml ine/har monizet hecompl exl and
tenurer egi mei nUgandaf orequitableaccesst oLandandsecur i
tyoft enure;
reform/ streaml ine l and rights admi nistr
ation,ensur e eff i
cient,ef fective,
equi t
abl edel iveryofl andser vi
ces;har moni zeal llandr elatedl awsunder
thel andpol icy.Thest ateismeantt opr escr i
beasetofr egulationsand
guidelinesout liningt her olesandr esponsibi l
it
iesofCent ralgov ernment
andot heror gansi nacqui r
ingland, whi chisnotdone.Ther ear einformat i
on
gapsbef or eev ictionsar ecar ri
edoutwhi chr equiresthest atet oadoptan
openpol icyoni nformat iont opubl i
candseekconsentofcommuni ti
esand
l
ocalgov er nment sonmi ningofr esour cesasr equiredbyt heNat i
onalLand
Policy.Thest ateshoul dpr otectt helandr i
ght sofci ti
zensi nt hef aceof
i
nv estment swi thmeasur esf orcl earpr ocedur esandst andar dsf orl ocal
consul tation,appeal sandar bitr
ationbutt hisi snotbei ngdone.

Theot herexpertwitnessesnot edthatther ear ejusti

fi
edev i
cti
onsbutmust
becar ri
edouti namannerwar rantedbyl aw,andwhi chi scompat i
blewi th
alllawsand cov enantswhi ch pr ovi
de ( a)modusoper andiofcar ryi
ng
evict
ions;vict
imsshoul dnotbet r
eatedasr efugeesint heircountr
y ;provi
de
for detail
ed due pr ocess and l egalst eps t o avoi d exploi
tation of
disadvantaged;(c)i
ndivi
dualrightst oproper ty,
fairhearing,associati
onand
otherr el
ated ri
ghts are notcov ered.Land ev icti
ons,t hough lawf ulor
unlawfular e conducted in disregard oft he Land and ot herr i
ght s of
l
andowner sthatar e displ
aced,and a f ailur
et o heed t ointernational
standards.

Tofil
lthegapsinthelegalandpoli
cyframework,gui
del
inesgoverni
ngl
and
evi
cti
onsarepr oposedtodr aw f
rom theUnit
edNat i
onsBasicPr i
nci
ples
and Guidel
ines on Devel
opment -
Based Evi
cti
ons and Displ
acementt o
coveramongothers:

a) Oppor
tuni
tyf
orgenui
neconsul
tat
ionwi
tht
hoseaf
fect
ed.

b) Adequateandreasonablenot
icef
oral
laf
fect
edper
sonspr
iort
othe
schedul
eddateofevict
ion;
5
c) Inf
ormati
ononpr oposedevi
cti
onoralter
nat
ivepurposeforwhi
ch
l
and/house i
srequir
ed be made av
ail
abl
einr easonabl
etime t
o
aff
ectedper
sons

d) Where groups ofpeople ar

ei nvol
ved,gov er
nmentof
fi
ci
als and
r
epresent
ativest
obepresentdur
ingevict
ions

e) Per
sonscar
ryi
ngoutev
ict
ionsbepr
oper
lyi
dent
if
ied

f
) Evi
cti
onsnottotakepl
aceinpar
ti
cul
arl
ybadweat
herorni
ghthour
s
unl
essconsent
edtobytheaff
ect
edpersons.

g) Pr
ovi
sionofl
egal
remedi
es

h) Pr
ovi
sionofl
egal
aidt
oseekr
edr
essi
ncour
tsofl
aw.
Thatev i
cti
onsofthosewi t
houtrightstolandinvolv
euseofforce,brut
ali
ty,
demol i
ti
onofstr
uctures,dest
ructionofplant
ationandotherdevelopments,
creat
ing economic i mpact,t heir human r ight
s ar
e v iol
ated/ their
devel
opment saremostof tennotv aluedorcompensatedwhi chshouldn’t
i
ncludev al
ueofLand.
ThatUgandabei ngasi gnat
oryt ovari
ousint er
nationalinstrumentslikethe
Uni v
ersalDecl arat
ion ofHuman Ri ghts,and t he Ugandan Const i
tuti
on
guar ant
eeingawi der angeofr ight
sint hebi l
lofr ights,li
keAr t
icle20( 2)
thereof;theInter
nationalConv enti
ononCi vilandPol it
icalri
ghts(ICPR) ;t
he
Internat
ionalConv enti
ononEconomi c,SocialandCul turalRight
s( I
CESCR)
shoul dprotectallpeoplesrights.Mostoft heot herwi tnesseshav elargely
concur r
edwi ththeseav erments.
Therespondentinr
epl
yoropposi
ti
ontot
hisappl
i
cat
ionfi
ledanaff
idav
itby
Josephi
neKi yi
ngiofAtt
orneyGener
alChambersbri
efl
ystatedthatthe
6
i
ssuesr ai
sedar ecapabl
eofbei ngresolvedinapr ivatesuit.Furt
her,that
ourl egalsystem givesremedi estoper sonswhohav ebeenunl awf ul
ly
dispossessedofpr oper
tyorhav esufferedunlawfulevict
ion.Thedef endant
arguedt hattherearesafet
yl egalguaranteesandr emedi alstepsthatcan
ber esortedtobyanaggr i
evedper sonsorev i
cteesinourj ust
icesystem
andt hatourLandAmendmentActspeci fi
cal
lyoutlawsev icti
onsthatar e
carri
edoutwi thoutacourtorder.

Iwishtonotethattherespondent’
saffi
dav
itdoesnotsat i
sfactor
il
yrespond
totheconcernsrai
sedi nthenoti
ceofmotion.Eit
hertherespondentdidnot
underst
andt heappl i
cant’
scompl ai
ntort heynev erhadanymeani ngful
answertogiveandt hatiswhytheyavoi
dedgi v
ingthespecifi
cresponse.

Attheheari
ngofthi
sappli
cat
ioncour
tdi
rect
edt
hepar
ti
est
ofi
l
ewr
it
ten
submissi
onswhi
chthepar
ti
esfil
ed.

Theappli
cantswererepresent
edjoi
ntl
ybyCounsel:CandiaEmmanuel ,
Eron
Kii
zaandTegul leGaway awhiletherespondentwasr epresentedbyMs
Harri
etNalukengeKav uma.Thef ol
lowingissuesweredi scussedinthe
submissi
ons;
I
SSUE1:Whet
hert
heappl
icat
ioni
spr
oper
lybef
oret
hiscour
t.

Thegi
stoftheprel
i
minaryobjecti
oni
sthatt
heappli
cati
onisr
esj udi
cata
andi
tseemsitwasnevercanvassedi
ntheev
idencel
aidbyt
herespondent
andi
tiscomi
ngasanaf t
ert
hought.

Therespondentf
ail
edtoappreci
atet
henat
ureofthecasepr
esent
edbyt
he
appli
cantsandprobabl
yt hatiswhyintheiropini
onthi
smat t sr
eri es
j
udicata.
I
nabsenceofanyev idenceorcitati
onofthecasewhi
chwasdeter
mined
beforeoratt
achmentofanyruling/j
udgment
,thi
scour
tcannotmakeany
fi
ndingthatt
hematt
erisresj
udicata.
The case beforet hi
s court seeks a decl
arat
ion that ther
ei s no
comprehensi
veproceduregover
ningevi
cti
onsinUgandawhi chhascaused
vi
olat
ionsoft heri
ghtt oli
fe,ri
ghtto di
gnit
yandt her ightto pr
opert
y
contr
arytoArt
icl
es22,24and26oft he1995Constit
uti
onofUganda.The

7
avermentsandevi
dencelaidbef
orethi
scour
tcannotper
mitt
heappli
cant
s
togowithoutappr
opri
ateremedieswhi
chthi
scourthasi
nher
entpowerst
o
grant
.

ISSUE TWO:Whet hert he absence ofadequate procedure gov

erning
evict
ionsi sav i
olat
ionofther i
ghttolife,r
ightt
odignit
yandt herightto
property,underArti
cles22,24and26oft he1995Const i
tut
ionofUganda
andbi ndingint
ernat
ionalhumanr i
ghtslawandstandards.

Theappl i
cantssubmi tt
edt hattheGov er
nmentofUgandahasNOTputi n
pl
ace adequat e and human r ight
scompl iantmeasur
es,guidel
i
nesand
procedurestoregulatelandevicti
ons;
andr eset
tl
ementofper
sonsaff
ect
ed
bydev el
opmentpr oject
s;
Thatthishasledt oprobl
emat i
c,painf
ul,prev
alentandper vasi
vehuman
ri
ght
sv iol
ati
onssuchaslossofpr oper
ty;i
nhumananddegr adingtreat
ment
;
l
ossofl if
eandproperty
;andlossofmeansofl ivel
i
hoods,dest ructi
onand
l
oss ofonl yhomes -acr oss the countr
y-cont r
aryt ot he dignit
yof
Ugandans,andv i
olat
ionandt hr
eatt othefundament alhumanr i
ghtsand
fr
eedomsespoused i nArti
cles20;22,24,26,27 and 45 oft he1995
Consti
tuti
onofUganda.Theseproblemsar epervasi
ve.
The1995UgandaConst it
utioni nArti
cle20(2)aswel lasI nternat
ional
HumanRi ghtsinstr
ument
si ncl ngi
udi nteral
iat
heInternat
ional
Cov enanton
Civ
iland Pol i
ticalRi
ghts( ICCPR)and t he Int
ernati
onalCov enanton
Economic,SocialandCul
turalRights(
ICESCR)towhichUgandai ssignatory
obl
igategovernmentt orespect,toprotectandtof ulf
il
lhumanr i
ghtsof
persons.
Itwasf urt
hersubmi t
tedt hatthehaphazardl andev ict
ioni ndiscri
minatel
y
j
eopar dizesandprejudicesther i
ghtstoli
fe,property,
wel f
areanddi gni
tyof
allUgandansbutmor eso–anddi spr
oporti
onat el
y–poor ,vulnerabl
eand
mar ginali
zedindi
viduals,famili
esandgr oupsofpeopl ei ncludinget hni
c
mi nori
ties,women,chi l
dren,indigenouspeopl e,andt hedi sabledar ethe
wor stvicti
ms.
Gover
nmentofUganda’sf ail
uret o putin place cl
earand adequat
e
pr
ocedur
almechani
smsorgui del
i
nest oguaranteeorderl
ydevel
opment
i
nducedandot
herevict
ions,andtoensur erespectforandpr
otecti
onof

8
humanr ightsnormsandst andar
dsbefore,duri
ng,andaft
erlandev i
cti
on;
and resettl
ementact i
vit
ies isin contr
av enti
on ofthe core Uganda’s
obli
gati
onst orespect
,protectandful
fi
llt
hef undament
alhumanr i
ghtsand
fr
eedomsundert heCovenantonEconomi c,soci
alandCul
tural
Rights.
Int
ernati
onalhumanr i
ght
slawrecognizesar i
ghttoadequatehousing.The
Int
ernati
onalCov enantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRi
ghts(“
ICESCR”)
upholds“theri
ghtofev er
yonetoanadequat estandardofli
vingf
orhimself
andhi sfamil
y,includi
ngadequatefood,clothi
ngandhousi ng,andt othe
conti
nuousimprov ementofli
vi
ngcondi t
ions.
”
The obl igat i
on ofSt ates t or efrai
nf rom,and pr otectagai nst,f or ced
evictionsf r om home( s)andl andar i
sesnotonl yfrom sev er alinternational
l
egali nst r
ument st hatpr otectt hehumanr i
ghtt oadequat ehousi ngand
otherr elatedhumanr i
ght si ncl udingt heUni versalDecl arat i
onofHuman
Right s,theI nt
ernat i
onalCov enantonEconomi c,SocialandCul turalRi ghts
(art.11, par a.1), t
heConv ent ionont heRi ghtsoft heChi ld( art.27, para.3),
thenon- discr i
minat i
onpr ovisi onsf oundi nar ti
cle14, paragraph2( h),oft he
Conv ention on t he Eliminat ion ofAl lFor ms ofDi scrimi nation agai nst
Women,andar ticle5( e)oft heI nt
ernat ionalConv entionont heEl i
mi nation
ofAl lFor ms ofRaci alDi scr iminat i
on.Ar ti
cle 17 oft he I nternational
Cov enanton Ci viland Pol iticalRi ghts st ates that“ [n]o one shal lbe
subj ectedt oar bitraryorunl awf ulinterferencewi thhispr ivacy ,fami l
y,home
orcor r
espondence” ,and f urthert hat“ [e]
veryone has t he r ightt ot he
protect ion oft he law agai nstsuch i nt erf
erence orat tacks” .I tis al so
env i
si onedbyAr ti
cles27, 28and45oft he1995UgandaConst i
tuti
on.
Theabsenceofsuchev ict
ionguideli
nes–t hemer eabsence–i sinbr each
ofArti
cle20(2)obligationst orespect,protectandpr omot ehumanr ights
andfreedomsenumer atedi nchapterFouroft heConstituti
onespeci
ally22,
24,26,27 & 45 oft he1995 Ugandaconst i
tuti
onthati sincapableof
j
usti
fi
cationenvisi
onedi nAr t
icl
e43.Ev i
cti
onsi nviol
ationofthesebasi c
humanr ight
sandf reedomsar einnumer ableinUgandaasshowni nt he
Appl
icantsaffi
davitev i
dence,andasdesi rablet otakej udi
ci
alnoticeof
gi
vent hescal
eandscopeofpr oblematicevicti
onsi nUganda.
The respondentcounselin hersubmi ssi
on contended thatthereis
adequateproceduregov
erni
ngevict
ionsandthatl
andl awsar ei
nplaceto
spel
louttheright
sandremediesf
orpersonswhoselandright
sareviol
ated.
I
twashercaset
hatLawf
ull
andev
ict
ionsar
egov
ernedbyt
hel
aw and

9
unl
awf
ull
andev
ict
ionshav
eremedi
esundert
hel
aw.
Det
ermi
nat
ion
Iti
si mper at i
vet oappr eciatet hatt her eisnolegal framewor kexistenti n
Ugandagui dingev i
ctionsanddemol iti
ons.Thisunpl easantposi tioncoul d
nothav ebeenbet terexpr essedt hanbyLenaol a,Ji nSat r
oseAy uma&11
Other sv s.Regi steredTr ust eesoft heKeny aRai l
way sStaffRet i
rement
Benef itsSchemeand3Ot her sPet ition65of2010i nwhi cht helear ned
Judgel ament ed:
“…the wi despr ead for ced ev icti
ons t hatar e occur ri
ng i nt he count r
y
coupl edwi thal ackofadequat ewar ningandcompensat ionwhi char e
j
ust ifi
edmai nl ybypubl i
cdemandsf orinfr
astructur aldevelopment ssuch
asr oadby passes,powerl ines,ai rpor texpansionandot herdemands.
Unf ortunat elyt hereisanobv iousl ackofappr opriatelegislati
ont oprov i
de
guidel inesont hesenot oriousev ictions.Ibel i
evet i
mei snowr ipef orthe
dev elopmentofev icti
onl awsand
thesamesent i
ment swer eal soexpr essedbyMusi ngaJ.( ashet henwas)
whi l
econsi der i
ngt heissuesi nthismat teratani nter l
ocutoryst age, where
hest at edasf oll
ows;
“Thepr oblem ofi nformalset t
lement sinur banar eascannotbewi shed
away ,iti sher ewithus.Ther ei st hereforeneedt oaddr esst hei ssueof
forcedev i
ctionsanddev el opcl earpol icyandl egalgui deli
nesr elati
ng
theret o”.

Itshoul dbenot edfrom theonsett hattheGov ernmentofUgandahas

i
ndeedacknowl edgedthatther
ei sneedt opr ovideprot
ecti
onandr egul
ate
therampantev ict
ionsinUganda.Tot hisendt hemi ni
str
yofLands, Housing
andUr banDevelopmentisdev elopi
nggui delinesonEv ict
ions.Thiscourt
alsot akesjudi
cialnoti
ceoft her ecentnoticei ssuedbyt heMi ni
sterfor
Landst oal
lResidentDistr
ictCommi ssi
onersandPol i
cenott oallow any
evict
ionsduringtheDecemberf esti
veseasoni n2018.

Li
kewise,t
heJudici
aryalsoacknowledgedt heproblem offor
cedevi
cti
ons
andissuedaPracti
ceDir
ectionin2007whi chprovidedguidel
i
nesforafai
r
andsmoot hoper
ationofordersinrespectofregister
edlandwhichaff
ect
orhaveanimpactontenantsbyoccupancy.

10
Undergui del
ine5( b)itwasst at
edthat;Acour twhenor deri
ngtheevict
ion
ofani l
legaloccupantofr egi
ster
edl and,shoulddet er
mi neajustand
equi
tabledat eonwhi chtheoccupantshal lvacatethel andandremov e
theil
legalstructure,andt odeterminethedateonwhi chademol i
ti
onand
an eviction ordermaybe car r
ied outifthe ill
egaloccupanthas not
remov edhimsel forher sel
f,andhisorherst r
ucture,orotherwi
sevacated
thel
andasor dered.

The Judi ciary,t

hrough t he Ci
vilJusti
ce Refor
m Commi tt
ee has also
embar kedonmaki ngguideli
nestospecif
ical
l
yregulat
etheevicti
onprocess
uponcour tissui
nganor derofevict
ionororderofdemol i
ti
on.Thesame
maybei ssuedsoonasaPr acti
cedir
ecti
ontoallj
udici
aloff
icersandother
stakeholdersort hroughanamendmentt oOrder22oft heCivilPr
ocedure
Rules.

Evict
ionsnor mallyresul
ti n sever
ehuman r i
ghtsv i
ol ati
ons,particul
arly
whent heyar eaccompani edbyuseoff orce.Thev ictimsoft hef or
ced
evict
ionsar eputi nli
feandheal ththreateningsi t
uationsandof t
enl ose
accesst of ood,educati
on,healt
hcareandot herli
veli
hoodoppor tuniti
es.
Indeed,f orcedev i
cti
onsof t
enr esulti
nl osingt hemeanst opr oduceor
otherwise acqui r
ef ood orin chil
dren’s schooling bei ng i
nter
rupt ed or
compl etelystopped.

Forcedev i
cti
onsusuall
yresul
tinpeopl
ebei ngpushedint
oextr
emepov er
ty
andassuchposear isktotheri
ghttol
ife.Thiscoul
dfurt
hert
antamountto
cruel
,inhumananddegr adingtr
eatment,part
icul
arl
ywhencarri
edoutwith
vi
olenceasi twasi
nthecaseofLusanjjain2018.

In Soci
aland Economi c Rights Action Cent r
e( SERAC)& Anothervs
Nigeri
a( 2001)AHRLR 60 ( ACHPR 2001)i twashel dt hatt
hewanton
destr
ucti
onofpr oper
tyduringev ict
ionsviolatestherighttohousi
ngand
whenhousi ngisdestr
oyed,pr opert
y,healthandf ami l
yli
feareadver
sel
y
aff
ected.

Eveni
fcourthasr
uledi
nfavourofanevi
cti
onorissuedanevi
cti
onorderi
n
accor
dancewitht
helaw,t
hesituat
ionmaynecessit
atetheneedtohavea
11
smoot hpr
ocessofef f
ecti
ngsuchanor der.Ontheot herhandevicti
onsor
for
cedev i
cti
onsfrom l
andmayst il
lbeeff
ectedwithoutacour tor
derorthe
useofanyphy si
calfor
cet hroughharassment,t
hreatsorinti
midati
on.Such
scenari
osneedt ober egulatedthroughguidel
i
nesi nordertopr ot
ectthe
people.

TheConstit
utionenjoi
nst hestatet oprovi
depr ot
ectiontoallpeoplein
ordertosafeguardthef undamentalri
ghtsguarant
eedunderi t.I
tist hi
s
dutythati
sv estedinthest at
ethatcr eat
esanobl igati
ontoensurethat
every
oneenjoystheprotecti
onofthelawagainstbeingarbit
rar
il
ydi
splaced
fr
om housi
ngandl and.

InUganda, t
heLandt enuresyst
em acknowl
edgesthattherearepeoplewho
have sett
led on ei
therpubl i
cland orprivat
eland and indeed deserv
e
prot
ecti
onespeci al
lyaftersuchperi
odoft i
meandt hi
shasbecomet heir
home.Thepr ot
ecti
onofsuchpeopl eshouldnotinanywaybel i
nkedto
whethert hey have any propri
etar
yi nt
erestint he land ort hey ar
e
squatt
ers/tr
espassers.

Furthermore, aswashel dincaseofPor tElizabethMuni ci

palityvsVarious
Occupi er
s( 2005)( 1)SA217( CC)55;
“Itdoesnotmat tert hatt heApplicantsdo nothol dt itl
et ot hesuit
premises and ev en i ft hey had been occupy ing shant i
es,t he 1st
Respondentwasdut yboundt orespecttheirrighttoadequat ehousingas
wellast heirrighttodi gnity.Whereverandwhenev erev i
ctionsoccur,they
are ext r
emel yt raumat ic. They cause phy si
cal, psychological and
emot i
onaldi stress and t hey entaillosses of means of economi c
sustenanceandi ncr easei mpov eri
shment .Int hi
scase,Imustt her
efore
agree wi t
ht he Pet itionerst hattheirev i
ction fr
om t he sui tpremises
without a pl an f or t heirr esett
lement woul d increase l evel
s of
homel essnessand t hisCour tmustst r
ivet o upholdt her ight
soft he
Petiti
onersandespeci all
yther i
ghttobet r
eatedwi thdignit
y .

Iti
st hedutyoftheSt at
etobridgethegapbet weenthe“ hav
es”and“have
nots”inthesocietyinordertoav oi
dsituati
onswher epeoplewholi
v ein
i
ntolerabl
econdit
ionsarenottemptedtoinvadethelandsofother
ssoast o
enablethem ekealiv
ing.Thegovernmentisunderadut ynotonl
ytopr
otect

12
proper
ty butalso totake pr
oact
ive st
eps t
o ensur
et hatsoci
aland
economicright
softhepeopl
earegi
venmeaningandnottomerel
ytoadopt
aposit
ionofnon-i
nter
fer
ence.

Theobl i
gationt opr otectf rom forcedev i
ctionsi sofi mmedi ateeffectand
requi r
esSt atest opr eventt hir
dpar ti
esf rom i nter
feri
ngwi tht heenjoyment
ofhumanr i
ght s,i
ncludinganyr ightsjeopardi sedbyf orcedev ict
ions.Inthis
cont ext,
speci f i
clegislationormeasur esneedt obeadopt edt oensur ethat
pri
v ate actor s-such as l andlords,pr opertydev elopers,l andowner s and
varioust ypesofbusi nessent erprises-arecompl iantwi thhumanr i
ghts.
Statesshoul d,f orinstance,adoptl egisl
at i
onr egulat
ingt hehousi ng,rental
andl andmar kets,sucht enancyl awst hatpr otecttenant s’duepr ocess,
prev entdiscr i
mi nationandensur ehumanr i
ght scompl i
antpr ocedur esif
evictionsareunav oi
dabl e.( SeeUNHabi tat-For cedEvictionsFactSheetNo.
25/
Rev.
1-2014)
TheConst it
uti
onundert heNat i
onalObj ectiv
eandDi r
ecti
vesofSt atePoli
cy
XIVprovides;
TheStateshal lendeavortoful
fil
lt hef
undament alri
ghtsofal lUgandansto
soci
aljusti
ceandeconomi cdev elopmentandshal li
nparticularensuret
hat
-
(a)Alldev el
opmentef f
ortsar edi rectedatensuri
ngt hemaxi mum
social andcult
uralwell
-beingoft hepeopl
e;and
(b)AllUgandans enj oy rights and oppor t
unit
ies and access t o
educat ion,heal
th servi
ces,clean and safewat er ,work,decent
shelter,adequat e clothing,f ood securi
ty and pensi on and
reti
rementbenef it
s.

Inmyv i
ew,wheret
heStateall
owspeoplet ooccupyl andbeitgovernment
orprivat
eforaconsider
abl
eperiodofti
mesot hatthepeopleconsiderthe
saidlandtobethei
rhomes,itwoul
dbei nhumanf ortheStat
eort hepri
vate
developertosuddenlyevi
ctthem for
cefull
yther ef
rom withoutaffor
ding
them anopportuni
tytoseekalter
nati
vemodeofaccommodat i
on/decent
shelt
er.

I
tmustalwaysber ememberedt
hatunderArti
cl
e20,i ti
saf undamental
dutyofthe Stat
e and ever
yState or
gan t
o observe,respect,prot
ect,
promot
eandf ul
fi
ltheri
ght
sandfreedomsoftheindi
vi
dualandgr oupsand

13
i
st herefore mandat ed tot ake legislative,pol icyand ot hermeasur es,
i
ncludingtheset t
ingofst andards,toachi evet hepr ogr essiverealisati
onof
therightsguar anteedundert heConst ituti
on.I tshoul dbenot edthatthe
obli
gationsunderar ticl
e20al soext endst opr i
v ateact orsandt herefor
ethe
stat
ehast her esponsi bil
it
ytopr otectpeopl eev eni nci rcumst anceswher e
theevicti
oni sbei ngcar ri
edoutbyapr ivat edev el oper .
InthecaseofSoci alEconomi cRi ghtsCent re&Cent ref orEconomi cand
SocialRightsv sNi geria,Com.No. 155/ 96( 2001) ,t heCommi ssionst at
ed
that
;
“Gov ernment shav eadut yt opr otectt heirciti
zens,notonl y
throughappr opri
atel egisl
ationandef fectiveenf orcementbut
also bypr otecti
ng them f rom damagi ng act st hatmaybe
perpet ratedbypr ivatepar t
ies.Thi sdut ycal l
sf orposi t
iveacti
on
ont hepar tofgov er
nment si nf ulfil
lingt heirobligationunder
humanr ightsinstr
ument s”.

1.Thecasef
urt
herobser
vesi
npar
agr
aph63r
egar
dingf
orcedev
ict
ions
“whereverandwhenevert heyoccur ,f orcedevicti
onsar eextremel y
traumatic.Theycausephysi cal,psychologicalandemot i
onaldistress;
theyent aill
ossesofmeansofeconomi csust enanceandi ncrease
i
mpover ishment.Theycanal socausephysi calinj
uryandi nsome
casesspor adi
cdeat hs.Evi ct
ionsbr eakup f ami l
i
esand i ncrease
existi
ngl evel
sofhomel essness.I nt hisr egar
d,allpersonsshoul d
possess a degr ee ofsecur i
ty oft enur e which guar
antees legal
protecti
onagai nstforcedevi ction,har assmentandot hert hreats.”
I
ndividual
sshouldtheref
orenotbeevict
edf r
om thei
rhomesnorhave
thei
rhomesdemol i
shedbypubl icorpriv
ateparteswi
i t
houtj
udici
al
oversight
.Such protect
ion shoul
dinclude pr
ov i
di oradequat
ng f e
proceduralsaf
eguards.
”
Allpersonsthreatenedwithorsubj
ecttoforcedev i
cti
onshavet herightof
accesst oat i
melyr emedy,i
ncludi
ngaf ai
rhearingandorduepr ocessof
l
aw.Anyev ict
ionneedst obesuspendedasl ongast hecasei spendi ng
beforeanycour tofl aw.Inmanycases,housesar edestr
oyedwi thouta
courtorderorwithoutgiv
ingtheevi
cteesenought i
met oappealagainstthe
decisi
ont oevi
ct.

Thiscourti
sali
vetot
hef actt
hatther
earepotent
iall
andgrabber
swho
encroachorset
tl
eonotherpeopl
eslandwi
thoutanycolourofri
ghtand

14
i
mmedi atel
yaftertaki
ng possession continue t
o clai
m ordemand f or
compensationfr
om theStateort heprivateowner .Thismustequal
lybe
di
scouragedbyclearsanct
ionsunderthel andlawr egi
meinordertoavoid
l
awlessnessinUganda.

Personsaf
fect
edbylandgrabbersoughttobeprot
ectedj
ustl
ikethosewho
maybeaf f
ectedbylandev i
cti
onsthroughlawfulmeansandt heCourt
Ordersgr
antedagai
nstsuchpersonsoughttoenforcedi
naccordancewit
h
thelaw.

InthecaseofKephaOmondiOnj uro&ot hersvAttor

neyGener al&5
others[ 2015]eKLRcour tobservedt hat
;
“I
nsodeci di
ngt hi
sCour toughtnott obeunder st
oodt obeencouragingthe
cultureoflandinvasion.Farfrom it
.Peoplewhot akeituponthemselv esto
i
nv adeot herpeople’
spr i
vat
el andsoughtnott obenefitfr
om such
i
nv asions.Howev ergenuinelandlesspeopl ehavearightandalegit
imate
expect ati
onthattheStatewillprovidethem withadequatehousingand
shelter.

TheSupr emeCour tofSout hAf r

icai nSout hAfri
canConst ituti
onal Cour tin
Gov ernmentoft heRepubl i
cofSout hAfricaandOt hersvs.Gr ootboom
andOt hers(CCT11/ 00)[2000]ZACC19; 2001( 1)SA46; 2000( 11)BCLR
1169t heCour theldasf oll
ows;
“Thisjudgmentmustnotbeunder stoodasappr ovinganypr acticeofl and
i
nv asionf orthepur poseofcoer cingast atest r
uctur ei
ntopr ovi
ding
housingonapr eferent i
albasistot hosewhopar t
icipat
einanyexer ciseof
thi
ski nd.Landi nv asionisi ni
micalt othesy st
emat i
cpr ov
isionofadequat e
housingonapl annedbasi s.I
tmaywel lbet hatthedeci si
onofast at e
structure,facedwi tht hediffi
cul
t yofrepeat edlandi nvasi
ons, nott o
providehousi ngi nresponset othosei nvasions,woul dber easonabl e.
Reasonabl enessmustbedet ermi nedont hef actsofeachcase. ”

Theev i
dencebefor
ethi
scourtinthethr
eeaffi
dav
itsshowstherehav
ebeen
for
cedev ict
ionsindiv
er sear
easoft hecountryandpeopl ehavebeen
aff
ectedpartlyduetolackofcleargui
del
inesonhow evicti
onsaretobe
carr
iedout.

I
thasbeensummar i
zedbytheUNHabit
atFactSheetNo.21/Rev.1that
:
I
ngener
al,i
nter
nat
ionalhumanr
ight
slawrequi
resGover
nmentstoexpl
ore

15
allfeasibleal t
ernat i
vesbef orecar r
yingoutanyev iction,soast oavoi
d, orat
l
eastmi ni
mi ze,theneedt ousef orce.Whenev i
ctionsar ecar r
iedoutasa
l
ast r esort,t hose af fected must be af f
orded ef fecti
ve procedural
guar antees, whichmayhav eadet errenteffectonpl annedev i
cti
ons.These
i
ncl ude:
a)Anoppor tunityf orgenuineconsul tati
on;
b)Adequat eandr easonabl enotice;
c)Av ai
labil
ityofi nformat i
onont hepr oposedev ictioni nreasonabl
et i
me;
d)Pr esenceofGov er
nmentof ficial
sort heirrepr esentati
vesdur i
ngan
eviction;
e)Pr operi dentifi
cat i
onofper sonscar r
yingouttheev icti
on;
f)Pr ohibit
iononcar ryi
ngoutev i
ctionsi nbadweat heroratni ght;
g)Av ail
abili
tyofl egalremedi es;
h)Av ail
abilityofl egalaidt ot hosei nneedt obeabl et oseekj udici
al
redress.

Anylegaluseoff orcemustr espectthepr i

nciplesofnecessi ty(i.
e,f
orce
shouldbeusedonl yi ft
her eisnoot hereff
ectivemeansofachi evi
nga
l
egiti
mateandpr essingobj ecti
ve)andpr oport
ionalit
y( i
.etheuseoff orce
shouldbeproporti
onatetot helegi
timateobject
ivet obeachi ev
ed.
Measureshouldbet akent opr otecttheev i
cteesagai nstallassaultsor
thr
eats.
Theuseoff orceandf ir
earmsandanyot hernationalorlocalcode
ofconductshouldbeconsi stentwiththeConstituti
on,inter
nationall
awand
humanr i
ghtsstandards.

Theappli
cant
s’cont
ent
ioni
sv al
idtot
heextentthattheabsenceofEvict
ion
gui
del
ines i
sat hr
eatto possi
blevi
olat
ion ofr i
ghts enshr
ined i
nt he
Const
it
uti
on.

WHETHERTHEAPPLI
CANTSAREENTI
TLEDTOTHEREMEDI
ESPRAYED
FOR.

Adecl ar
ati
onthattheabsenceofadequat
epr ocedur
egoverni
ngevi
cti
ons
i
sav i
olati
onoft heri
ghttoli
fe,r
ightt
odignityandtheri
ghttoproper
ty,
underAr ti
cles 22,24,and 26 oft he 1995 Consti
tut
ion ofUganda
respecti
vel
y.

Ther
ewasnoev
idencel
edt
opr
ovet
hespeci
fi
cev
idencepr
ovi
dedbyt
he

16
appli
cantsregardingthev iol
ati
onst heyi ndi
vi
duall
ysuf f
eredduri
ngv ari
ous
evi
cti
onspar t
lyduet ot henatureofpr ocedureadopt edforthi
scase.Ialso
notefrom thesubmi ssionsandor der ssoughtbyt heappl i
cantsthatthe
i
ntenti
onoft hecasewasnott oseekcompensat ionforthei ndiv
idual
peoplethatpr ovidedaf fi
davi
ts,butr athertohighli
ghtamaj orlegaland
pol
icyomi ssi
ont hatl
eadst ovarioushumanr ight
sviolat
ions.

Howev erasIindicatedearli
er,
ther ehasbeenj udi cialnoti
ceoft hef actthat
evict
ionsi nUgandahav eal
way sr esul
tedinvarioushumanr i
ghtsv i
olati
ons,
andt hest atehasal soacknowl edgedt hi
sf actt hroughv ariousact ions.I
alsobaseont hebr oadwordingofar ti
cle50( 1)oft heconst itut
iont hat
all
owsf orahumanr ight
scaset obebr oughtwher eoneal l
egest hatar i
ght
“…hasbeeni nf
ringedort hr
eatened…”t opart
lyal lowt hisorderanddecl are
thattheabsenceofadequat epr oceduregov erningev icti
onsi sat hreatto,
andcanl eadv i
olationofther ightt olif
e,ri
ghtt odignityandt her i
ghtt o
property,underAr t
icles22,24,and26oft he1995Const ituti
onofUganda
respectivel
y.

Adeclarati
ont hatdel
ay,r
efusalorf ai
lureoftheGov ernmentofUgandat o
putinplaceclearandadequat eproceduralmechanismst oensur erespect
andprotecti
onofhumanr ightsnor msandst andardsbefore,duri
ng,and
aft
erlandev i
ct i
onsandreset t
lementact i
vi
ti
esisincontrav ent
ionoft he
corestateobligati
onstor espect,protectandf ul
fi
lltherightsundert he
CovenantonEconomi c,SocialandCul turalRi
ghts.

WhileIacknowl edget hatUgandai sboundbyi tsobli

gati
onsundert he
i
nternationalhumanr ight sinst
rument sithasrati
fi
ed,theordersoughti n
thi
scasei stoobr oadbecausei tdoesnotspeci f
ical
lyr
efertotherightsand
obli
gationsv iol
at edundert heI nternati
onalCovenantonEconomi c,Soci al
and Cul turalRights.Al lowing thisor derasi tiswithoutindicating the
specifi
cr ightsandobl igat i
ons v iol
atedundert heICESCRwoul dsuggest
thatthest ateisincont raventi
onofal li
tsobli
gati
onswithregardst oallthe
ri
ghts undert he I CESCR,whi ch is nott he case undert he current
cir
cumst ances.

17
It
her
efor
edi
sal
l
owt
hisor
der
.

3.An or der compel l

ing the Gov ernment to dev el
op compr ehensi ve
guidel
inesgov er
ninglandev icti
onsbef or
e,duri
ngandaf t
ert
hef act.
Thecour tissatisfi
edt ogr antt hisor derint heci rcumstancesandt he
governmentshoul dexpedi tethepr ocessofdev elopingandi mplement ing
theev i
cti
ongui deli
nes.Duet ot hegr av
ityoftheconsequencesr esulting
from theabsenceofsuchGui delinesf rom ahumanr i
ght
sper specti
v e,I
wouldwantt omakeaf ur
theror dert hattheGov ernmentembar ksont his
processandr eportbackonpr ogresst ocourtwithi nsevenmont hsfrom t he
dateofhandingdownt hisjudgment .
Thepr ocessofdev el
opingt heEv ictionGuideli
nesshoul dbeconsul tative
andpar t
ici
patory,al
thought hest ateshoul dref
ert ot heUNBasi cPrinciples
and Guideli
nes on Dev el
opment -
Based Ev ict
ions and Di splacementf or
guidanceonbestpr acti
ces.

Iwishtonotethatal
thoughtheguideli
nesaret
obemade,t hegovernment
shoul
dcomeupwi thaclearlegi
slat
ionwit
hsancti
onsthatwouldaddress
thecurr
entprobl
em ofil
l
egallandevi
cti
onsinUgandabyboththestateand
pri
vateact
ors.

4.Cost
s:
Thi
sbeingapubl
i
cint
erestl
i
tigat
ioncase,
Idecl
i
net
oawar
danycost
s.

IsoOr
der
.

SSEKAANAMUSA
JUDGE
25th/
01/
2019

18