Justice Egonda Ntende ruled that the Attorney General should produce the document to court by Aug. 19. AES Nile power, a subsidiary of the US based AES Corporation, is seeking to build a multi-million dollars hydroelectric dam at Bujagali falls. The order follows an application by Green Watch, a local environmental NGO. The NGO has accused government and AES of concealing information on the agreement. “The power purchase agreement was kept secret,” argued Kenneth Kakuru, a lawyer for Green Watch. The suit was filed in respect of Article 41 (1) of the constitution, which states that: “Every citizen has a right to information in the possession of the State or any other organ or agency of the State except where the release of the information is likely to prejudice the security or sovereignty of the State or interfere with the privacy of any other person.” Kakuru also argued that the 1995 constitution guarantees freedom of access to information by Ugandans. According to him, the power purchase agreement does not fall within the exception of security or right to privacy. The state, represented by Senior State Attorney Joseph Matsiko, argued that the release of the document and its contents would amount to endangering the security of the state because the power purchase agreement contained clauses of confidentiality and trade secrets, which could not be made public. The court rejected this argument. At the next hearing on July 22, court will hear substantive arguments on whether or not the power purchase agreement is indeed a public document or not. Green Watch has been arguing that the concealment of the power purchase agreement is not in the interest of the public. It further argues that without it, the public cannot determine if the overall cost of the Bujagali Dam Project is fair, given other possible alternatives.