On October 14, 2020, the applicants—victims of recurring landslides in Bududa district, Uganda—filed a suit against the Attorney General (representing the Government), the National Environment Management Authority and the Bududa Local Government Council alleging that the respondents have failed to put in place an effective machinery against landslides in Bududa district, and that the respondents’ acts and/or omissions have led to the violation of applicants’ fundamental rights. 

On December 3, 2019, multiple landslides occurred in Bushika sub-county, Bududa district, displacing the applicants from their homes, killing 20 of the applicants’ relatives, and destroying property and the environment. The applicants argue that Bududa district, in the Mt Elgon region in Eastern Uganda, is an area prone to landslides, and according to several government documents set out in supporting affidavits, the respondents are fully knowledgeable of the recurring landslide problem in the area, which has been exacerbated by climate change. The applicants argue that the respondents have positive obligations under national and international climate change and disaster management law to put in place an effective machinery for dealing with landslides in Bududa district. Despite their legal obligations, the respondents have failed to do so, thus violating the applicants’ fundamental rights, including the right to life, the right to a clean and healthy environment, the right to property, and the right to physical and mental health. The applicants argue that the infringement of the applicants’ fundamental rights could have been avoided if the respondents had discharged their respective obligations under the law. The applicants argue that Bududa district is likely to suffer from more landslides in the future due to factors such as changing rainfall patterns and increasing extreme weather events caused by climate change and environmental degradation. If the affected people are not urgently relocated and resettled, further loss of life, loss of property and infringement of human rights is likely to occur. 

The applicants claim several reliefs from court, including declarations that their fundamental rights to life, property, physical and mental health, and clean and healthy environment were infringed when the landslides occurred. The applicants further claim for a declaration that the respondents are responsible for the violation and infringement of their fundamental human rights. The applicants further claim a total of UGX 6,800,000,000 (Uganda shillings six billion eight hundred million) in damages and compensation for the loss of life, threats to life, destruction of property and infringement of their other fundamental human rights as well as the costs of resettlement to safer areas.  

Before addressing the merits, the respondents raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the expert affidavit relied on uncertified copies of public documents, which were inadmissible under the Evidence Act.  The Court accepted that expert evidence could be relevant in environmental and human‑rights litigation. However, it found that the applicant’s expert affidavit relied almost entirely on public documents that were not certified, contrary to statutory requirements. The applicants failed to prove that the originals were in the respondents’ possession and unavailable, or that certified copies had been requested and refused.

As a result, the affidavit was deemed unsupported and inadmissible, leaving the application without evidentiary foundation. The application was dismissed in its entirety. The Court did not examine the substantive human rights claims. No costs were awarded, given the public‑interest and human‑rights nature of the case.

Tsama William and Others v. Uganda’s Attorney General and Others

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Tsama William and Others v. Uganda’s Attorney General and Others - application

Filed

Uganda

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

The processes through which enterprises can identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts. Due diligence is the idea that reasonable precautions should be taken to avoid causing harm to people, the environment, or society. It also involves identifying and mitigating risks before they occur.

An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

This sector provides medical services, manufactures medical equipment, and develops pharmaceuticals to maintain and improve health.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Heavy precipitation refers to any form of weather where substances fall from the sky, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

The cryosphere is the frozen part of the Earth—it includes sea ice, glaciers, snow, and ice sheets. It helps regulate the climate and weather by reflecting sunlight. Rising temperatures are causing melting, leading to sea ice loss, glacier collapse, and glacier landslides and avalanches. This threatens the livelihoods of around 700 million people who rely on the cryosphere for food, water security, and cultural practices.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Tsama William and Others v. Uganda’s Attorney General and Others - application

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance