Bunyoro disowns oil protest letter
THE Bunyoro Kingdom has disowned a letter purportedly written by the Omukama (king) Solomon Iguru, protesting the sale of Heritage’s shares to Italian oil company Eni.
By Raymond Baguma
THE Bunyoro Kingdom has disowned a letter purportedly written by the Omukama (king) Solomon Iguru, protesting the sale of Heritage’s shares to Italian oil company Eni.
The letter being circulated is dated December 18 and is addressed to Tony Buckingham, the CEO of Heritage Oil, as well as Paulo Scaroni, the CEO of Eni.
The letter is also copied to President Yoweri Museveni through his secretary Amelia Kyambadde, the Speaker of Parliament, Tullow Oil and the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
The Bunyoro prime minister, Yabeezi Kiiza, yesterday said the king had never written such a letter to State House.
He said he suspected people of radical views within the kingdom to be behind the drafting of the letter.
The letter says the kingdom is concerned about Heritage’s sale of its entire shares in Uganda to Eni for $1.5b.
It refers to an August 13 meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and Eni boss Scaroni, during which the latter purportedly confirmed his “strong intention to create a new and lasting partnership with Uganda.â€
The letter complains about the Government’s lack of transparency in oil transactions.
“The Government has vehemently refused to bring to Parliament all the various agreements on oil. Instead, all oil related negotiations and agreements have become the domain of State House, the First Family and State security agents,†it reads.
It also claims that the oil agreements are in breach of the 1955 Bunyoro Agreement, which states that substantial part of mineral royalties and revenue from mining leases should be paid to the Bunyoro Kingdom.
The letter further accuses some of the lead negotiators in the oil deals of being Bafuruki, and the Heritage boss of having funded Lendu militias and other warlords in Congo’s Ituri region “to wipe out our Hema brothers because of oilâ€.
It was not possible by press time to establish if any of the addressees received the letter.
THE Bunyoro Kingdom has disowned a letter purportedly written by the Omukama (king) Solomon Iguru, protesting the sale of Heritage’s shares to Italian oil company Eni.
The letter being circulated is dated December 18 and is addressed to Tony Buckingham, the CEO of Heritage Oil, as well as Paulo Scaroni, the CEO of Eni.
The letter is also copied to President Yoweri Museveni through his secretary Amelia Kyambadde, the Speaker of Parliament, Tullow Oil and the Uganda Human Rights Commission.
The Bunyoro prime minister, Yabeezi Kiiza, yesterday said the king had never written such a letter to State House.
He said he suspected people of radical views within the kingdom to be behind the drafting of the letter.
The letter says the kingdom is concerned about Heritage’s sale of its entire shares in Uganda to Eni for $1.5b.
It refers to an August 13 meeting between President Yoweri Museveni and Eni boss Scaroni, during which the latter purportedly confirmed his “strong intention to create a new and lasting partnership with Uganda.â€
The letter complains about the Government’s lack of transparency in oil transactions.
“The Government has vehemently refused to bring to Parliament all the various agreements on oil. Instead, all oil related negotiations and agreements have become the domain of State House, the First Family and State security agents,†it reads.
It also claims that the oil agreements are in breach of the 1955 Bunyoro Agreement, which states that substantial part of mineral royalties and revenue from mining leases should be paid to the Bunyoro Kingdom.
The letter further accuses some of the lead negotiators in the oil deals of being Bafuruki, and the Heritage boss of having funded Lendu militias and other warlords in Congo’s Ituri region “to wipe out our Hema brothers because of oilâ€.
It was not possible by press time to establish if any of the addressees received the letter.