{UAH} Family wants Shs 22bn pay for Karuma rock

Family wants Shs 22bn pay for Karuma rock

Written by Edward Ssekika

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Created: 28 September 2016

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A family in Kamdini, Oyam district has dragged government and contractors of Karuma dam to court for crushing a rock in their land and using it in the dam construction without their consent.

In the suit, Etot Paul and others Vs Attorney General, the family of Mzee Etot wants court to compel government and Sinohydro Corporation Ltd, the Chinese company constructing the 600MW Karuma dam, to compensate them for the rock. The case is being presided over by the High court Judge Wilson Kwesiga.

The family argues that they own the land and the rock there and, therefore, deserved to be compensated before the rock could be crushed into aggregates and used for the construction of the dam.

According to the plaint, it all started in 2012, when the ministry of energy decided to compulsorily acquire land around Karuma to pave way for the construction of the dam. Part of Mzee Etot's land was among the parcels that government acquired.

"Government unlawfully took over the family's land adjacent to River Nile, and handed it to [the contractor] for the construction of the dam," the family court documents read.

Karuma dam under construction

Part of the land contains a rock which, the family argues, should be compensated separately from the value of the land and other property there.

Through their lawyer, George Omunyokol, the family argues the stones and rocks are not minerals and, therefore, government should "compensate the family for unlawful use of its rock."

VALUE OF THE ROCK

"The constitution is clear, it excludes stones from minerals," Omunyokol said.

The family has hired geologists to quantify the value of the rock.  According to the technical evaluation report prepared by geologist David Kyagulanyi, the rock's value is $6.5m (Shs 21.8bn).

"The minimum tonnage of good-quality rocks as construction material was already being mined by Sinohydro Corporation for construction work on the dam," says Kyagulanyi, adding that they found the rock could weigh 650,000 tonnes.

The family also wants compensation for the value of the land and development on it worth Shs 813m, the figure given by government chief valuer but was not paid. 
The family claims that their two plots of land, situated in Nora village, Kamdini sub-county, were taken away without compensation.

DEFENSE

However, the attorney general denies any wrongdoing and asks court to dismiss the suit with costs.  He argues that the crops were counted in the presence of family members and appropriate compensation paid.

"The compensation figure was based on the existing district compensation rates of the area," the attorney general argues in papers filed in court.
"In respect to the claim that the family had an intention to develop the piece of land as an eco-lodge and growing an orchard, we contend that the projects are only being fronted in order to siphon money from the government," the defense reads in part.

For the rock, the attorney general says, the family was not entitled to compensation because it was considered a mineral.

Gwokto La'Kitgum

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