Users of a 1.5km access road in Butuntumula Sub-county, Luweero District, have received temporary relief after the High Court ordered Victoria Sugar Limited to reopen the road. The access route had been blocked by the sugar company, sparking a dispute with Ammars Agro Limited and residents of Kibaaga Village.
The fight over the shared road escalated in August when Victoria Sugar Limited, owned by Indian nationals, dug a trench across the road. This move cut off the only road leading to the 450-acre farm owned by Ammars Agro Limited, a business run by Eritrean nationals and a section of Kibaaga Village.
Victoria Sugar later filed a civil suit at the High Court in Luweero, asking for an injunction to stop Ammars Agro Limited from reopening the road. The company also accused Ammars Agro of trespassing on its land, damaging its property by installing culverts, and demanded Shs500m in general damages. Through Nshekanabo and Partners, Advocates and Solicitors, Victoria Sugar Limited asked court to block Ammars Agro Limited, its agents or workers from undertaking any activity on land comprised in LRV 2406 Folio 12, Plots 4 Block 769.
Court ruling
However, Justice Faridah Shamilah Bukirwa Ntambi dismissed the application after the company failed to follow court directives. During a locus visit on October 1, the judge ordered both parties to file written submissions by set deadlines. ‘The applicant (Victoria Sugar Limited) was granted up to October 15, to file the submissions. While the respondent (Ammars Agro Limited) was to file a reply thereafter. Court records that no written submissions were filed by Victoria Sugar Limited. They also did not seek extension of time within which to file the submissions. I, therefore, find that the applicant has failed to comply with the courts’ clear directives without providing any justification for such omission,’ the October 29 court ruling reads.
The judge further pointed to Order 17 Rule 4 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which allows the court to determine a matter when a party fails to take steps necessary for the case to proceed. Justice Bukirwa ruled that Victoria Sugar had not met the legal threshold for an injunction to keep the road closed. ‘I must state that the actions of the applicant go beyond the assertion of proprietary rights as they cause economic hardships and disrupt a long-established state of access that existed for years. Equity demands that such conduct should not be rewarded through judicial sanctions,’ the ruling further reads. The judge then ordered Victoria Sugar Limited to stop blocking the access road. The court declined to award costs but cautioned Ammars Agro Limited to avoid tampering with Victoria Sugar’s property while using the road.
On November 27, Luweero District security teams led by the District Police Commander, Mr Brighton Ahimbisamukama, moved to execute the court order. Victoria Sugar Limited did not send any representative, but police and Ammars Agro officials supervised the reopening of the 1.5km road. Ammars Agro Director Petros Fissahaye, on November 27, said the trench dug by Victoria Sugar had severely affected their operations. ‘Our efforts to seek redress from different authorities, including the resident district commissiomer’s office and the other government departments earlier yielded little results. The court ruling is a big relief,’ he said.
But Victoria Sugar officials insist they have blocked certain roads to protect company property from vandalism and for security reasons.
Luweero District chairperson Erastus Kibirango said the disagreement over the access road shocked both leaders and residents. ‘When the issue was brought to our attention. Our efforts to have the issue resolved were disregarded by one of the parties,’ he said. Residents say investors blocking roads is becoming a growing problem. Mr Samuel Ssemwanga of Ndibulungi Village said some access roads that have existed for more than 20 years have been sealed off, cutting families off from water sources, churches and schools. ‘When you visit Ndibulungi Village, we have a perimeter wall that was constructed by Victoria Sugar on a more than 2km access road. We were blocked from accessing our gardens,’ he said.
Background
Victoria Sugar Limited owns 54 hectares of sugarcane on block 769, plots 4 and 6 in Butuntumula Sub-county, where it also operates a sugar factory.
Ammars Agro Limited manages 170 acres of pineapples, 50 acres of bananas and 180 acres of maize on plots 2 and 3, Block 756.
Butuntumula Sub-county hosts more than five investment companies, including one of the largest ethanol producers under PRO Industries and SR Afro Chicks Company.