An examination of the adequacy of Uganda’s production sharing legal framework in protecting host communities: a case study of the Bunyoro Region

Abstract

This study examines the adequacy of Uganda's production sharing legal framework in protecting the interests of host communities in the Bunyoro Region of the Albertine Graben. Uganda has adopted the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) model as the principal contractual instrument governing petroleum development, yet communities in Bunyoro – whose land, livelihoods, environment, and cultural heritage are most directly affected – report persistent grievances over inadequate compensation, restricted participation, environmental harm, and exclusion from petroleum revenues. The study employs a mixed-methods research design integrating doctrinal legal analysis with qualitative empirical fieldwork conducted in Buliisa, Hoima, and Kikuube districts in May 2026. The doctrinal analysis applies the Public Trust Doctrine and Rights-Based Theory as the twin theoretical frameworks through a structured Adequacy Assessment Matrix of seven criteria: constitutionality; legality and enforceability; participation and consent; compensation and resettlement; environmental safeguards; benefit-sharing and local content; and institutional accountability and oversight. The matrix is applied to the Constitution of Uganda, the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Act, the Land Act, the National Environment Act, relevant subsidiary legislation, and the Model Production Sharing Agreement 2012. The empirical component comprised Key Informant Interviews with legal experts, government officials, and civil society practitioners, and Focus Group Discussions with affected community members. The study finds that the framework is formally consistent with the Constitution in its broad architecture but exhibits systemic inadequacies in its community-facing provisions. Environmental safeguards are the most developed dimension. Participation and consent, compensation and livelihood restoration, benefit-sharing, and institutional accountability are materially inadequate. Compensation law excludes petroleum-enhanced land values; no mandatory livelihood restoration obligation exists; the PSA confidentiality regime prevents community access to contractual terms; and communities are structurally excluded from PSA dispute resolution. Fieldwork accounts, read with documentary evidence, are consistent with these legal gaps producing concrete harm, including reported compensation delays of three to five years, loss of livelihoods without restoration support, and unequal access to justice. The study proposes ten targeted reforms addressed to Government, Parliament, the judiciary, the IOCs, civil society, and institutions of learning.