Delays in both the building of the Karuma Hydropower Project and rightful compensation for local residents highlight years of unfulfilled promises and ongoing injustices.
As the long-delayed Karuma Hydropower Project on the Nile River approaches its long-awaited launch, local residents—still awaiting resettlement and fair compensation—are making a final appeal to President Yoweri Museveni. The $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt project, funded by China and constructed by Sinohydro, has been marred by 11 years of delays and controversy. Now, with the launch scheduled for August, the residents of Karuma and surrounding villages are voicing their concerns directly to the highest office in the country. This follows a “load rejection test” of the facility in June which caused a nationwide blackout for hours—an omen to a community that the troubled project will likely see a launch day before they receive proper compensation or resettlement.
In a letter sent to President Museveni, community members representing over 119 households detail their grievances, focusing on the failed Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). Despite promises made years ago, many of the most vulnerable—including the elderly, disabled, and child-headed households—remain in dire conditions. “They are worse off than refugees in their own country,” said William Ogiki, a community elder who has been leading legal efforts on behalf of the affected families.
Ogiki criticized the impending launch of the project, arguing that it would be premature without resolving the outstanding issues. “Compensation for their property was mishandled—people were given incorrect rates for their land. This injustice calls for a review to ensure that those who were cheated receive fair compensation,” he said.
Concerns about compensation and the flawed RAP were raised last October in a petition to a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources. The committee had promised to visit the community by December 2023 to verify these claims, but that visit has yet to occur. Meanwhile, evictions have reportedly continued, leaving many once-thriving communities around the project destitute.
“We hear these rumors that the president is coming, but we still have many problems,” says Christine Atero, one of the original group of community members forcefully evicted almost 11 years ago when the project development began with no compensation with a promise of resettlement “within six months.”
“We don’t know how far the ministry of energy have gone,” Atero continues, “some of us are in court because we were paid less [in compensation], others have died; there was a promise of resettlement but up to now people are still there—none have been resettled. The people of Karuma are suffering—they were deceiving us that the dam project will make us [and our lives] better, but we are now worse [off].”
Ogiki, along with other community members, has been involved in various court cases and ministerial mediations dating back to 2016, challenging the project. Among other grievances listed in the letter is that court justice remains elusive as “law abiding Ugandans with rights” are exasperated by endless postponements, high legal fees and alleged cronyism even within the region’s high courts and ministries.
In the meantime, evictions and reported land grabs around the project have continued, with poor compensation. According to Ogiki, a recent visit by a surveillance consultancy from Kampala was perceived as an attempt by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to gauge local sentiment. The community, however, united in rejecting the consultancy’s efforts to place boundary markers on their land—a now familiar symbol of oppression.
Rumors of an imminent visit by the parliamentary committee have been met with understandable skepticism. “Is it possible the president can come to meet the locals?,” one elderly man asked at a community meeting earlier this year. “Because these members of parliament…even if they come they – will not even reach [or speak to] the real affected people. They may decide to gather people somewhere [else] and they do their ‘point of interest’ and they go back [to Kampala].”
As the August 14th letter delivered to the presidency awaits a response, the community remains steadfast in their pursuit of fair compensation and resettlement, as guaranteed under Article 26 of the Ugandan Constitution and long overdo says Robert Akiiki, director of local conservation organisation Friends with Environment in Development, who has helped support and coordinate the community’s efforts over the years.
“It is very unfair and unfortunate that the community members affected by the Karuma dam have not been adequately compensated and not yet resettled – those who should have been resettled 11 years ago. I hope that when the government comes to their senses regarding this delayed, yet deserved right, they will not only compensate or resettle the affected members with what they should have been given 11 years ago, but also for the time they have suffered and that their properties will be compensated fairly and well.”
Letter of Complaints and Concerns of Karuma Dam Affected Communities – signed by 48 signatories representing 119 households of vulnerable and poorly compensated project affected community members in Karuma, addressed to:
- The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy
- The LC V Kiryandongo district
- The Chief Government Valuer – Ministry of lands
- The Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda
- The Sinohydro Corporation
- The Chinese Embassy in Kampala, Uganda
- The Chief Justice of Uganda, Rt. Hon. Owiny Dolo
- The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs
