Kijumba, Uganda, In a village shadowed by two massive oil pipelines, darkness was a way of life. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and a parallel multipurpose pipeline cut through the landscape of Kijumba, a community in Western Uganda’s Hoima district. But despite promises of development and investment from these multi-billion-dollar projects, villagers say they have been left in the dark-both literally and figuratively.
For generations, families in Kijumba lived without electricity. Their nights were lit by the hazardous glow of burning dry grass or torches, leaving children with no light to study by. Vesitiina Kyomukama, a local mother of four, recalls eating meals outside by moonlight, a risky necessity that exposed her family to snake bites. “Before we were given this solar system, we used to live in total darkness,” she says.
The presence of the EACOP pipeline, already infamous for its environmental damage and displacement of communities, has brought little benefit to the people of Kijumba. According to Edwin Mumbere of the Centre for Citizens Conserving Environment (CECIC), the inadequate and untimely compensation for land has left many families poorer than before. “There are some things you cannot compensate for in life… You cannot compensate soil fertility,” Mumbere explains.
Annet Chantal, a farmer in the village, echoes this sentiment. “I didn’t benefit much from the pipeline because of the meager compensation I received,” she says, lamenting the loss of her land. “I really regret losing my land to the project which has left me without land for cultivation.”
Hope for Kijumba arrived in the form of a different kind of energy: solar power. Through the REPower Afrika Campaign, a joint initiative by 350 Africa and CECIC, women in the community, including Vesitiina, were trained to install and maintain solar systems. The project not only provided safe, clean energy but also empowered the women with a new set of skills they could pass on to their families.
With the flick of a switch, their lives were transformed. Vesitiina’s children now have light to read and do their homework, and families no longer rely on dangerous, polluting methods for illumination. The shift has also brought health benefits, as villagers no longer inhale smoke from burning firewood or grass.
Beyond household lighting, renewable energy is delivering broader economic benefits across Uganda. A recent study estimates that expanding renewables could boost Uganda’s GDP by up to 0.5 % annually and generate as many as 40,000 additional jobs each year in manufacturing, installation and operations. In the decentralised renewable energy (DRE) sector alone, roughly 30,000 people were employed in 2021 (down from ~35,000 in 2019) even after pandemic impacts. Solar power is also significantly cheaper than many fossil‑fuel options: for grid‑connected solar in Uganda the tariff recently dropped to US 5.1 cents per kWh, making it the country’s cheapest form of electricity generation. One analysis noted solar power costs in Uganda are roughly 40‑50% lower than traditional energy sources. And by providing off‑grid and mini‑grid access – especially in rural areas where only about 8‑9% of households have grid connection – solar and distributed renewables are enabling small‑scale irrigation, refrigeration, phone‑charging businesses and other productive uses sparking local development along corridors like the one created by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The success of the initiative has sparked a new determination in Kijumba. The women are now advocating for widespread access to renewable energy, urging the Ugandan government to make solar technology available to all. They are dreaming of a future where every home in the country can move from darkness to solar light.
“When we were given the solar system, our children started revising their books, and life is better now,” Vesitiina shares.
The community is now hoping to install a micro-grid to bring the benefits of solar power to even more families, proving that sustainable, community-led solutions can light the way forward, even in the shadow of fossil fuel giants. Beyond individual homes, renewables are helping Uganda chart a path toward economic growth, energy security, and environmental resilience, showing that clean energy can create opportunities where oil pipelines alone have not.
