Govt assures Nakasongola residents of compensation over nuclear project

The government has dismissed claims that it plans to evict Nakasongola residents near the proposed nuclear energy facility without compensation.

Energy state minister Sidronius Okasai made the clarification while addressing Parliament on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.

“No one is going to be evicted from his land, especially when you are far off from the implementation. We are going to engage the communities, create awareness so that they don’t have such fears. In case the time comes, we have a provision for compensation of the project affected persons (PAPs),” said Okasai.

Government is exploring the establishment of a nuclear energy facility aimed at boosting electricity generation to meet the country’s projected demand.

Authorities have so far identified Buyende and Nakasongola as potential sites for the first and second phases of the project.

In May this year, government signed a contract with a South Korean firm to pave the way for site assessments of the proposed 8,400MW Buyende nuclear power project.

Meanwhile, the Nakasongola nuclear power project is planned to generate 7,200MW through six reactors, each with a capacity of 1,200MW.

However, Nakasongola County MP Noah Wanzala Mutebi (NRM) said that during the current political season, some individuals had begun spreading false narratives, claiming that lawmakers who were in Parliament in 2017 were behind the planned evictions.

He said this was putting him on a collision course with his voters.

“My humble prayer is that the Ministry of Energy go to Nakasongola district, particularly to Lake View Secondary School, Kalungi sub-county and meet the village people, the residents who are being threatened to be evicted by this project. They give a clear picture and proper information so that they get to know how the project will be implemented and what will happen,” Mutebi implored.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, weighing in on the matter, cautioned that it should not be treated lightly.

“From the information you had given, people within a radius of 30 kilometres are going to be affected; there must be homes. It can’t be as simple as you put it here. I would request that you link with MPs from affected areas to tell you the problem, and then they are able to engage their communities. That would be more helpful,” Tayebwa said.

Okasai concluded that the ministry plans to engage Mutebi’s cultural leader as they have done in Busoga.