It has been 23 years since over 2,000 people were displaced in Uganda to make way for a coffee plantation for the German company Neumann. Since then, they have been fighting for justice in court. In 2001, more than 4,000 people were evicted from their land in Uganda after it had been acquired by German coffee firm Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) on a 99-year lease. Many of the residents of Kyengeza village in Mubende district were forcefully driven off their land, which lies approximately 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Uganda's capital Kampala, to make way for a 2,500-hectare (4.9 acres) coffee plantation. NKG has maintained that its lease of the land from the Ugandan government was signed in good faith. The company also acknowledged that 25 families in the Mubende district resisted relocation and were subsequently removed by government authorities. In 2002, farmers sued the government in Kampala, as well as NKG and its Ugandan subsidiary, Kaweri Coffee Plantation.

NKG claimed the Ugandan government compensated 166 families, however many Ugandans claim that no compensation has been paid to them. The company declined to comment about the legal dispute in Uganda, but did state it had agreed with the Ugandan government that only so-called clean title land would be considered for a subsequent lease — in other words, land that is free from claims by third parties. The plaintiffs are trying to assert their claims with the Ugandan government. With the help of the German human rights network FIAN, the farmers filed a complaint with the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in 2015. Since then, numerous high-ranking politicians have been involved in attempts to reach an out-of-court settlement. It was not until 2017, partly due to pressure from the German government, that representatives of the Ugandan president presented the plaintiffs with an offer for a settlement.

NKG is a long-established company based in Hamburg. With 60 subsidiaries across 27 countries, it stands as a leading entity in the green coffee sector. Aside from Uganda, the company also operates plantations in Mexico and Brazil.