The Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) and its partners have withdrawn a case they filed in the Court of Appeal in relation to the degradation of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve.
Other partners on the withdrawn case include the National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) and Water and Environment Media Network (WEMNET).
In a press statement dated August 6, 2024, the charity organisations said that they had withdrawn the case due to lack of expected response from court since 2021 when they filed it.
They add that the case had even outlived its importance since it was centrally aimed at stopping the destruction of Bugoma forest by Hoima Sugar Limited who the government regarded as an official investor.
“The case had even been overtaken by events,” the plaintiffs said in a statement.
The case resulted from a controversial transaction between Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom (BKK) and Hoima Sugar Limited which was challenged by the National Forestry Authority (NFA) arguing that the transaction involved part of the central forest reserve.
NFA’s efforts to challenge the transaction held in 2016 were futile as the court said it could not justify its claims.
Despite the withdrawal of the case, AFIEGO says it will not cease the struggle to promote the conservation of Bugoma forest which is one of Uganda’s few remaining tropical forests.
“Mobilising and working with forest host communities to ensure that Hoima Sugar Ltd restores the forest as ordered by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in 2022 is part of their agenda of the way forward,” the statement says.
Adding: “Another step is working with the forest host communities and partners to demand that the Ministry of Lands publicly releases the Bugoma forest boundary opening report to protect the forest from various land grabbing claims. The third action is to continue sensitising stakeholders on the biodiversity conservation and socio-economic importance of Bugoma forest to aid its conservation.”
AFIEGO adds that it will also engage the government to operationalise environmental courts to ensure that the judiciary handles environmental cases with the importance and urgency they deserve.
