UNRA Loses Case Against Mineral Exploration Rights, Ordered To Pay Shs 9.2Bn.

 The High Court of Uganda has directed the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) to pay USD 2,542,600 (Shs 9.3bn) in special damages to Joyce Lucia Burungi for the violation of her exploration rights.

The case arose from the construction of the Hoima-Kaiso-Tonya Road, which interfered with Burungi’s exploration license area and resulted in the excavation of 25,426 tonnes of bentonite.

 Joyce Lucia Burungi, the holder of Exploration License No. EL 0760 granted in 2011 and renewed in 2014, filed the case against UNRA and the Attorney General after her attempts to seek compensation were futile.

She claimed that UNRA’s road construction activities encroached on her licensed area, damaging the bentonite reserves.

 The court found that Burungi’s exploration rights, protected under the Mining Act and the Constitution, had been violated.

In her ruling, Justice Esta Nambayo noted that Burungi had “exclusive rights over the mineral within the license area,” as provided under Section 31 of the Mining Act.

Justice Nambayo further ruled that UNRA’s actions violated Burungi’s exploration license and that her rights had been ignored despite acknowledgment by government agencies.

 Referring to legal opinions from the Solicitor General and the Deputy Attorney General, the judge cited Exhibit P.2, which stated: “The action by UNRA of constructing a road i.e., Hoima-Kaiso-Tonya Road through the exploration license area interfered with the exploration operations and occasioned excavation of substantial bentonite reserves.”