Compulsory Acquisition

Inchi Huru (hereinafter referred to as “Inchi Huru” or “the country”) is a

developing nation that gained independence forty years ago. Inchi Huru is
governed by an executive president, has a Parliament and an independent
Judiciary. The political majority, and the President’s affiliation, is the Ongea
Vizuri Party (OVP). The Wapenda Haki Party (WHP) is the main opposition party
holding 15% of the 200 parliamentary seats; it is strongly rooted in two
administrative districts, Mwangaza and Giza. The country is rich with deposits
of gold and petroleum. With a population of 29 million, Inchi Huru is a stable
democracy governed by a written constitution.
The constitution of the Country upholds the rule of law, the separation of powers,
and mandates that the Supreme Court of Inchi Huru gives final interpretation to
the constitution and declare any act inconsistent with the constitution null and
void. The Country’s constitution further provides that every mineral in its natural
state in, under or upon any land in Inchi Huru, rivers, streams, and water
courses is the property of Inchi Huru and shall be vested in the Inchi Huru Land
Commission (IHLC) on behalf of and in trust for the people of the Country. The
constitution allows the IHLC to acquire land or authorize its occupation under
the appropriate enactment when the land is required to secure development or
utilization of a mineral resource. Inchi Huru Mineral and Mining laws requires
the government to give a preliminary notice before compulsorily acquiring land.
The President has incredible influence over the IHLC.
Inchi Huru is comprised of various ethnic groups. The Wanainchi, who are
mainly farmers, are a minority group who occupy the Mwangaza Region of the
Country. They share a similar farming history with their neighbors, the
Wenyeinchi of the Giza Region. Farming defines the lives of the Wanainchi and
their region serves as the bread basket of Inchi Huru. Mr Albert Tunateseka, a
well-respected Mwangaza lawyer, is proud of his heritage and publicly works to
celebrate and further the Mwangaza Region’s contribution to the development of
Inchi Huru.
The OVP, which has been in government since October 2011, has embarked on
intensive gold exploration in the Mwangaza Region despite protest from the
inhabitants whose main concern is that, being farmers, mining would adversely
impact their lives. The citizens maintain that the government should cease
evaluating their farm land for mining purposes.
The Wanainchi look to the plight of the Wenyeinchi who were involuntarily
displaced under the Giza Mining Lease Agreement (GMLA) enacted between the
government and Chimba Migodi, a foreign global mining corporation whose
national representative is the Chairman of the OVP, a close friend to the
President. The GMLA forced the Wenyeinchi to cease farming and awarded their
lands to Chimba Migodi. The Wenyeinchi were involuntarily relocated to a
housing project and offered a compensation package.
Prior to the compulsory acquisition of the mining rights in the Giza Region, some
Wenyeinchi instituted a legal action in the Human Rights Division of the High
Court in Inchi Huru challenging GMLA’s validity; they failed despite the Court’s
acknowledgement that the government’s failure to issue preliminary notice was
in violation of Inchi Huru’s laws.
On March 1, 2015, Chimba Migodi was awarded mining rights to 60% of the
Mwangaza Region. The government again entered in a lease agreement with
Chimba Migodi, the Mwangaza Mining Lease Agreement (MMLA), without giving
acquisition notice. The National Chairman of the OVP announced that Chimba
Migodi had been given rights for surface mining in the Mwangaza region and that
the government would not be any notice as OVP’s overwhelming majority made
it clear that that is what the people would want. The Chairman elaborated that,
despite the absence of the constitutionally required notice, Chimba Migodi’s
operation in the Mwangaza Region would be lawful. This statement from the OVP
National Chairman was condemned by the General Secretary of the WHP, as well
as all WHP parliamentarians, who called the OVP government an elected
dictatorship.
Notwithstanding the position of the WHP, on April 1, 2015, the government of
Inchi Huru started informing the inhabitants of the Mwangaza Region of its
intended plan to compensate and resettle them. The communication was done
in the local language of the Wanainchi using government information vans over
a period of four weeks. Though the decision to relocate the affected Wanainchi
has already been taken by the OVP government, it has yet to be implemented.
Mr Tunateseka, through Sheria Kamili in order to protect Mwangaza has brought
Gizas’ case to the Supreme Court, enjoining the Mwangaza landowners as
amicus curiae.
Inchi Huru, a dualist state, is a member of the United Nations (UN), the African
Union (AU) and the East African Community (EAC), and is a signatory to the
African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Additionally, Inchi Huru has
signed and ratified all relevant international instruments on human rights.