Activists sue over Uganda Tullow deal

A group of Ugandan activists on Tuesday filed a suit against the Ugandan government and UK-based Tullow Oil at the constitutional court.

The suit surrounds Tullow's impending $2.9 billion deal with France's Total and China's Cnooc Ltd. as well as evictions in the country's oil region, according to reports.

The petition

Busingye Kabumba, a lawyer representing a group of six non-governmental organizations, filed a petition seeking a ruling to declare that it is "unconstitutional" for the Executive to compel ruling party lawmakers to overturn parliamentary resolutions that had earlier blocked government approval of Tullow's deal with Total and Cnooc Ltd. 

A court official confirmed the petition.

"The petition is intended to protect the resolutions of parliament," he said, according to the news wire. 

"It's our contention that it's unconstitutional for the president to hold a private meeting with members of parliament and coerce them to overturn parliamentary resolutions."

Compensation affair

According to upstream online, the petitioners want the court to rule that it is unconstitutional for Tullow to conduct oil exploration and appraisal activities on land owned by locals without giving them adequate compensation.

A spokesman for Tullow said the company would study the petition before making any comment. 

However, Tullow has said previously it would only start compensating locals upon the commencement of commercial oil production.

Separation of powers

According to Kabumba, the Ugandan constitution provides for the separation of powers between the executive, the legislature and parliament.

There was no immediate comment from the Ugandan Attorney General.

Ugandan MPs  from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party Saturday voted to rescind a resolution that had blocked the government from approving Tullow's planned sale of two thirds of its assets in the country.

Uganda's energy and minerals minister, Irene Muloni, was expected to propose a motion Tuesday in parliament calling for the formal withdrawal of the resolution to pave way for the deal's approval.

The Tullow deal is expected to unlock at least $10 billion worth of investments in the country's oil sector but it has met with several hurdles since the start of the year, ranging from disagreements over the oil development plan to tax disputes.