Court issues directives on Bududa landslide victims’ case

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A group of landslide victims from Bududa district has petitioned the High Court to review a case in which they accuse the Government of failing to establish an effective disaster management system in the region.

Justice Godfrey Namundi of the Mbale High Court had dismissed the case on a technicality, citing that the documents attached to the affidavit of expert witness Vincent Yiga were not certified as required by law.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, a group of 48 landslide survivors, led by William Tsama, has petitioned the court to review its decision, arguing that the expert whose affidavit was relied upon to dismiss their case is not a victim of the disaster, but his evidence corroborates the experiences of the Bududa landslide victims.

On October 23, this year, the group appeared before the Mbale High Court, just weeks before the onset of the heavy rain season that threatens to trigger similar disasters in the region.

High Court judge Charles Kasibayo directed both parties to file their submissions, which he will consider in preparing his judgment, scheduled for September 10, 2025.

The landslide victims filed the suit against the Attorney General, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), and the Bududa District Local Government Council.

The case stems from a December 2019 landslide in Bududa district in Eastern Uganda, which claimed dozens of lives.

In 2020, the survivors, supported by the environmental organisation Greenwatch and Kakuru and Company Advocates, initiated legal action seeking accountability and improved disaster management measures.

The survivors argue that by failing to establish effective disaster management in Bududa, the Government was in breach of the Constitution and other existing laws.  

The survivors have demanded that emergency systems be put into place in high-risk areas and that families who lost loved ones receive financial compensation. 

Greenwatch director Samantha Atukunda Kakuru Mwesigwa said: “Almost five years after the case was filed, these claimants have not wavered in their fight for justice, and we are proud to stand by them in court.

And during this painstaking wait, similar disasters have hit nearby areas such as the devastating landslide last year in Bulambuli.”

Mwesigwa said without the right finance and adaptation measures in place, every town and village in the eastern part of Uganda lives with the fear that tragedy could strike at any moment.

“That is why these claimants’ cases have never been more important. Heavier rainfall wreaks and will continue to wreak havoc in the region, and we are hoping the court gives this case its long-awaited green light to proceed to the next stage,” she said.

Background to the case

Recurrent landslides are an ever-present threat in eastern Uganda, particularly during the rainy months between November and January.

They have been occurring for decades and have worsened over time, partly due to increased rainfall caused by climate change.

To address the growing danger communities in landslide-prone areas face, the Government adopted a resettlement plan in 2010. They intended to relocate all those who might be impacted by landslides within 10 years.

However, little progress has been made to date, and only a limited number of people who want to relocate have had the process completed.

Bududa residents, who are primarily subsistence farmers, are also concerned about the suitability of the relocation scheme, particularly when it comes to finding a place to grow and produce food.

All the while, landslides have continued to hit the region. Most recently in Bulambuli, 15 people were killed by a heavy-rainfall-induced landslide, with a further 113 people reported missing by local authorities.

A total of 40 houses were swept away by the disaster, and the military was deployed to assist with search and recovery efforts in the aftermath.

Beyond Uganda, climate change-fuelled landslides are becoming an increasing risk across the African continent. Heavy rainfall and flash flooding in Sudan reportedly killed hundreds last month, compounding an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund, almost one million people across Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Somalia were affected in May 2024 by ongoing flooding and landslides.